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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 




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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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THE ISLAND OF CUBA 



A DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
OF THE u GREAT ANTILLA" 



La mas fermosa tierra que jamas ojos vieron." 

— Crist6bal Col6n 



ANDREW SUMMERS ROWAN 

First Lieutenant, iqth Infantry, U. S. Army. Sometime Member 
of the Intercontinental Railway Survey 

AND 

MARATHON MONTROSE RAMSEY, B. S., A. M. 

Professor of Romance Languages in the Columbian University. 
Author of "A Text-Book of Modem Spanish " 




NEW YORK 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
1896 




MAP OF CUBA 






Copyright, 1896, 

BY 

HENRY HOLT & CO. 



/-^/V^3 



THE MERSHON COMPANY PRESS, 
RAHWAY, N, J, 



PREFACE. 



It is a phase of the law of supply and de- 
mand that, whenever any unfamiliar topic, 
place, or person begins to assume prominence 
before the public, the very demand for infor- 
mation which its importance brings about 
will produce a supply of literature bearing 
upon it. 

Such has been the case with Cuba. During 
the first half of the present century people 
outside its own shores, to use a familiar ex- 
pression, " knew little and cared less " about 
it. The public attention which was attracted 
by the rebellion of 1868 was answered by 
numerous descriptive and historical works; 
and its political rights and wrongs were 
commented upon in numerous treatises, 
impartial or polemic. But when, after the 
capitulation at El Zanjon, ten years later, the 
contending factions on the island ceased to 
support their respective views by force of 



IV PREFACE. 

arms, the outside world heard less and less of 
Cuba and her affairs, until they became no 
longer a matter of public interest. 

Indeed, so little have we been concerned 
with the island — which, on account of its 
proximity to our shores, if for no other rea- 
son, should have some claim to our consider- 
ation — that, according to the results of a 
search instituted in the Copyright Office of 
the Library of Congress, but six works upon 
Cuba were published in this country between 
the years of 1870 and 1889, and only one 
during the years from 1890 to 1895; while a 
file of the annual " English Catalogue of 
Books " from 1885 to 1895 does not con- 
tain the title of a single such work printed in 
Great Britain and Ireland. 

We might naturally expect that the atten- 
tion again centered upon the Island of Cuba 
by the recurrence of hostilities in 1895 would 
be promptly followed by a new output of 
literature; and this has proved to be the 
case. Three works of some magnitude have 
already appeared in the United States this 
year, besides a flood of small pamphlets and 
articles. 

It might seem, therefore, that to add an- 



PREFACE. V 

other book upon the subject would be both 
uncalled for and unnecessary. But when we 
find, upon examination, how very little has 
been said or written that has been unbiased by 
personal preference or partisan feeling, and 
how great a proportion of this new growth of 
literature is of an ephemeral and even of a 
superficial character, there may yet appear 
to be room for a work such as is now laid be- 
fore the public. 

The tendency of modern writings, so far 
as they are not merely ornamental or fanci- 
ful, is largely scientific. Science is but 
another name for system. Our modern re- 
quirements now insist that the writer of — 
for example — a history, shall make no 
assertion that he has not substantiated, 
either by reference to the writings of a recog- 
nized authority, or by the examination of 
original records, or by his own personal ex- 
perience; that he shall arrange his material 
logically; and shall strive to give, so far as 
possible, cause and effect. These require- 
ments have further resulted in the tendency 
to employ specialists, and to assign the vari- 
ous branches of a subject to persons best 
qualified to treat them, 



Vl PREFACE. 

The writers of the following pages had 
occasion recently, in connection with the 
discharge of official duties, to make some in- 
vestigations relative to Cuba and its relations 
to the United States. It then occurred to 
them that some part of the facts thus brought 
to their knowledge might be of interest to 
the public. In the arrangement of the work 
to be undertaken, the previous lines of in- 
vestigation of the respective collaborators 
were kept in view, and the book was 
divided accordingly. The first part contains 
a detailed description of the physical con- 
ditions of the island; the second or histor- 
ical part narrates what has been done on this 
scene of action; the third part describes the 
present condition of the island from an ad- 
ministrative and commercial standpoint. As 
the primary object of the authors was to 
gain correct information and not to dress up 
a tale of woe or defend a party, they have en- 
deavored to divest themselves of passion and 
prejudice, and to present the truth as nearly 
as they could find it. 

The Cuban question is not an easy or sim- 
ple one. There are at least four points of 
view, and perhaps we should rather say five. 



PREFACE. vil 

To those who look from only one of these, 
the affair is very simple. 

i. The Cubans find themselves heavily 
taxed under an ever-changing government 
of Europeans, upon which they have no 
effective influence. 

2. Spain, on the verge of utter bank- 
ruptcy, cannot afford to lose money or 
spend money on Cuba, and yet is compelled to 
do both in order to maintain her dominion 
over the island. 

3. The holders of Spanish securities may 
be often religious, educational, or charitable 
institutions, or widows and orphans, whose 
scanty means have been invested in that pre- 
carious lottery. 

4. England and France are appealed to by 
the bondholders for protection, and are un- 
willing to see Cuba pass into the possession of 
anyone strong enough to make any real use 
of it. 

5. The government of the United States 
has all this and a great deal more as a prob- 
lem to figure out. 

M. M. R. 

Columbian University, 
Washington, May, 1896. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Preface, v 

PART I. 
DESCRIPTIVE. 

Position and Extent, . . . . . . i 

Territorial Divisions, 4 

Orography, . . 6 

Water Courses, 16 

The Plains, 24 

The Coasts, 25 

Island of Pines, 29 

Geology, . . . 31 

Climate, 37 

Products, 40 

Communications, 45 

Gazetteer of the Island of Cuba, . . .53 

PART II. 
HISTORICAL. 

Chapter I., 77 

Chapter II., 88 

Chapter III., . .99 

Chapter IV., in 

ix 



x CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Chapter V., 121 

Chapter VI., 127 

Chapter VII. , 140 

Chapter VIII., 150 

Chapter IX., 166 

PART III. 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 

Population, 175 

Government, 183 

Religion 189 

Education, 190 

Censorship, 194 

Trade and Finance, 198 

Cuba as a Neighbor and a Customer, . . . 204 
Conclusion, 213 

Appendices to Parts II. and III.: 

Appendix A.— Effect of the Influx of the Pre- 
cious Metals, 221 

Appendix B. — Mr. Fish to Mr. Cushing, . . 223 

Appendix C— President Grant's Annual Mes- 
sage to Congress, December, 1875 (portion 
relating to Cuba), 235 

Appendix D. — Capitulation of El Zanjon, . . 246 

Appendix E. — Articles of Pacification with the 
Maroons of Trelawney Town, concluded 
March 1, 1738, 249 

Appendix F. — Memorandum of some points of 
International Law bearing on the Question of 
Cuban Belligerency, 254 

Appendix G. — Bibliography, . . . .261 
Index 275 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA 



PART I. 

DESCRIPTIVE. 
By Lieut. A. S. Rowan, U. S. Army. 

POSITION AND EXTENT. 

The Island of 
Cuba lies just with- 
in the north torrid 
zone, immediately 
south of the 
State of Flor- 
ida. The me- 
ridian of 
Washington 
crosses it at 
its widest 
part, about 
250 miles 
east of Habana and about 200 miles west 
of Cape Maisi, the most eastern point. 




2 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

The distance from the northwest coast of 
Cuba to the Florida mainland is only about 
that which separates New York from Albany, 
or Washington from Philadelphia on the 
one hand and Norfolk on the other.* 

The length of the island, measured on its 
median line from Cape Maisi to Cape San 
Antonio (n degrees of longitude in the lati- 
tude of 20° N. to 23 N.), is about 
760 miles; and the breadth, measured 
at the narrowest part, which is in the vicin- 
ity of Habana, is from 30 to 36 miles. The 
widest part is in the east, where, meas- 
ured on the meridian of Mazanillo at the 
mouth of the Rio Cauto, the breadth is 
125 miles. 

If the island of Cuba were translated to the 
latitude of New York, and Cape Maisi were 

* The following distances may be useful for reference : 

Key West to nearest point on the Cuban coast, 86 miles. 

Key West to Habana, 93 4< 

New York to Habana, 1413 " 

New Orleans to Habana, 475 " 

Cape San Antonio, Cuba, to Cape Catoche, 

Yucatan, ....... 125 " 

Santiago de Cuba to Kingston, Jamaica, . . 200 " 
Santiago de Cuba to Greytown (entrance to 

Nicaragua Canal), 700 " 



DESCRIPTIVE. 3 

laid down at Sandy Hook, Cape San Antonio 
would occupy a position in the vicinity of 
Chicago. In other words, one of the New 
York Central's fastest trains would require 
nearly twenty-four hours to pass from one 
end of the island to the other; while to cross 
it in the vicinity of Habana would be approx- 
imate in time to a trip from Washington to 
Baltimore, or, if crossed in the vicinity of 
Santiago, to a trip from New York City to 
Albany. 

The form of the island * is that of a thin, 
irregular crescent with the convex side on the 
north, nearly tangent to the Tropic of Can- 
cer. It has a coast line of about 2200 miles 
(according to Pichardo), or, if we include all 
indentations, nearly 7000 miles. About 
half of the north coast is open, as is also an 
equal proportion of the south coast, offering 
many fine harbors, generally with narrow en- 
trances, and capable of easy defense. The 
remainder is screened by a multitude of small 
islands (grouped in four archipelagoes), keys, 
and banks, which render navigation difficult, 
dangerous, and in many parts impracticable. 

* Humboldt likens Cuba to Java, in shape, size, products, 
and position. 



4 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

While this long and narrow figure of the 
island permits of ready water communication, 
it has to some extent retarded the develop- 
ment of its resources by not demanding the 
construction of railways. 

The area of Cuba is about 45,000 square 
miles — being one-fourth that of Spain, or 
approximately equal to the State of Penn- 
sylvania. 

The favorable position of the island, lying 
at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, and so 
near the three great divisions of the western 
hemisphere, has caused Habana, its capital, 
to be called the " Key to the New World." 

TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS. 

Popularly the island is divided into four 
regions known respectively as the Vuelta 
Abajo (the lower turn), Vuelta Arriba (the 
upper turn), Las Cinco Villas (the five 
towns), and the Tierra Adentro (the interior 
country). 

From the meridian of Habana to Cape San 
Antonio lies the Vuelta Abajo. This is 
again popularly subdivided by giving the 
name of los Partidos de fuera (the outlying 
portions), or simply los Partidos, to the 



DESCRIPTIVE. 5 

part between the meridian of Habana and 
that of San Cristobal in Pinar del Rio. 

From the meridian of Habana eastward to 
that of Santa Clara lies the Vuelta Arriba. 

From the meridian of Santa Clara to that 
of Puerto Principe, or even as far east as 
Holguin, the term Las Cinco Villas is now 
applied (formerly called Las Cuatro Villas, 
the four towns, from the four towns of Trini- 
dad, Remedios, Santo Espiritu, and Santa 
Clara). The new designation is taken from 
the jurisdictions of Sagua, Santa Clara, 
Trinidad, Remedios, and Cienfuegos; but the 
original five " towns " have since been ele- 
vated to the rank of " cities." 

The Tierra Adentro (the interior) may be 
roughly defined as tying between the me- 
ridian of Caibarien and the extreme eastern 
point of the island. 

It will be seen that there is frequently an 
overlap in the limits of these popular di- 
visions, but this is of no definite importance. 
It is extremely convenient, however, to be 
familiar with these designations, as they are 
referred to constantly in writings and in con- 
versation. 

In its ecclesiastical concept, the island is 



6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

divided into two dioceses, viz.: the arch- 
bishopric of Santiago de Cuba, and the 
bishopric of Habana — the divisional line sep- 
arating the island into two equal portions. 

Politically there are six provinces (see Map 
No. i), which take the names of their respect- 
ive capital cities. Beginning at the west 
they are: Pinar del Rio, Habana, Matanzas, 
Santa Clara, Puerto Principe, and Santiago 
de Cuba. These are again subdivided into 
judicial districts and municipalities. 

OROGRAPHY. 

Although Cuba is known as a mountainous 
country, its orographical features are not, in 
all parts, well defined. In a general way a 
mountain chain may be said to extend from 
Cape Cruz, passing close to the seacoast, 
eastward to Cape Maisi. Then, turning ab- 
ruptly to the west, it passes along the middle 
of the island, breaking away here and there, 
first to the north coast, then to the south, 
and then following a central line till it fades 
away in the marshes of Cape San Antonio. 
The symmetrical position of the culminating 
ridge causes a nearly equal distribution of the 
number of streams and the volumes of water 



DESCRIPTIVE. 7 

carried to the north and south of the Cordil- 
lera. 

The main chain or sierra, approximating in 
length to 1000 miles, is broken into groups 
bearing distinctive names and separated by 
rolling uplands, or by low-lying plains ele- 
vated only a few hundred feet above the sea. 

In the province of Santiago de Cuba the 
range extending from Cape Cruz along the 
southern coast toward Cape Maisi forms a 
junction in the central and eastern parts with 
that traversing the middle of the island, cre- 
ating, as might be anticipated, an intricate 
system of verdure-clad elevations cut into 
sharp and well-defined ridges known as cu- 
chillas, or " knife-edged " crests, as distin- 
guished from the series of peaks generally 
styled sierras or " saws." The first men- 
tioned range is called the Sierra Maestra or 
" Master " range and is the best defined 
mountain chain on the island. From Cape 
Cruz it rises first in a succession of terraces, 
and soon attains the altitude of 5140 feet at 
the crest of the Ojo del Toro (bull's eye) 
peak, 20 miles from the cape. This increase 
in elevation is continued as the crest of the 
sierra is followed eastward until it culminates, 



8 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

at a height of 8320 feet, or more, in the cel- 
ebrated Blue Peak or Pico Turquino (some- 
times erroneously written " Tarquino ") 
about halfway between Cape Cruz and San- 
tiago de Cuba. Near the Turquino, spurs 
are sent ofT toward the north into the val- 
ley of the Cauto as far as the vicinity of Ba- 
yamo, giving an undulating character to the 
south side of that famous tropical valley. 
From the Turquino eastward the name of 
Sierra Maestra is dropped and that of Sierra 
de Cobre, or " copper range," is substituted. 
Here are found the copper mines of Santi- 
ago de Cuba. 

In the Cobre range, a short distance east 
of Santiago de Cuba, is a great block of con- 
glomerate, measuring 150 feet in length by 
45 feet in width, resting on the top of a trun- 
cated pyramidal peak 3300 feet above the 
sea and known as La Gran Piedra. In this 
vicinity the southern coast range, the Sierra 
Maestra proper, is merged with the main 
backbone of the island coming from Cape 
San Antonio on the west, and the maze of 
the Cuchillas becomes now the dominating 
orographical feature; while a great number 
of streams rising close together send their 



DESCRIPTIVE. 9 

waters into far separated seas. This ex- 
tremely broken and precipitous country, 
occupying as it does a large part of an entire 
province, has caused it to be the least known, 
as it is the most difficult of access, of any of 
the political divisions of the island. Roads 
here are few and poor; but the great diver- 
sity of products, due to the rapid change in 
the climate which is caused by the difference 
in elevation, makes this region one of the 
most wonderful in the world. The cascades, 
cataracts, and natural portals, surrounded by 
an ever verdant foliage, combined with numer- 
ous species of flowering orchids and other 
tropical flowers, and with animal life in all its 
gayest colors, present a picture such as is fur- 
nished at but few points on the globe. Well 
might Columbus write to his sovereign that 
here was to be found "the fairest land that the 
sun shines on or that the eye has ever seen." 
Turning now westward and following the 
crest of the central chain, a very notable 
truncated cone over 3000 feet high is to be 
seen near the port of Baracoa. This remark- 
able peak, long known to navigators, bears 
the name El Yunque de Baracoa, (the anvil 
of Baracoa). 



io THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Near the meridian of Nipe the decrease in 
elevation is quite marked and the mountains 
begin to dip into the plain until, between the 
Bay of Nuevitas and the inlet of Esperanza, 
they are no longer perceptible. Only here 
and there detached groups appear, as in the 
Sierra de Guaycanamar, south of Puerto 
Principe, and in the Sierra de Cubitas, imme- 
diately to the north of that city. The Cubi- 
tas range, always noted for its great caves, 
has recently come into historical prominence 
by reason of its selection as the seat of the 
new insurgent government. 

Still moving toward the west over the un- 
dulating, forest-clad plains, the next group 
of mountains observed is that of the Sierra 
de Bamburanao, a local range subdivided into 
four groups, the whole reaching as far as San 
Juan de los Remedios and terminating there 
in the marshes on the north coast. 

In passing from the Cubitas group to that 
of Bamburanao, the island, now less than 50 
miles wide, is little above the level of the sea; 
and across this low, narrow reach the mili- 
tary line of La Trocha (or " the trench "), 
with detached forts at short intervals, was 
established during the insurrection of 1868- 



FIRST TROCHA. 



Scale of Mile*. 




West of Greenwich 



78° 20' 



12 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

78 to confine the operations of the insurgents 
to the eastern departments. (See sketch.) 
This line passes approximately north and 
south through Moron and Ciego de Avila, and 
has its flanks resting in the tangled mangrove 
swamps of the coasts. 

A little further westward, but over against 
the southern shore, ieaving a longitudinal 
valley (through which the railway line from 
Habana or Pinar del Rio will pass on its way 
to Santiago de Cuba), is the Sierra de San 
Juan y Trinidad. " This calcareous group," 
says Humboldt/' has a majestic aspect as seen 
near the Cayo de Piedras. . . The land 
in the interior of the island is gently undu- 
lated as in England." The dominating peak 
of the central or Santa Clara mountain region 
is in this southern (San Juan) group, near 
the sea, not far from the town of Trinidad, 
and bears the name of El Pico del Potrillo. 
It has an altitude of about 3000 feet. The 
range from this point passes slightly to the 
northwest and then curves around to the 
south, forming the background to the land- 
locked bay of Cienfuegos, the ancient 
Xagua. Projecting westward from the ter- 
minal point is the celebrated Cienaga de 



DESCRIPTIVE. 13 

Zapata or " shoe-shaped " marsh, which juts 
out into the sea, forming on its north the 
Ensenada (inlet) de la Broa. 

Another depression of the rolling upland 
occurs between the San Juan range and the 
highlands on the north coast skirting the 
Matanzas bay — the highest point (1300 feet) 
of the latter being the great Pan de Matan- 
zas (Matanzas loaf), so named from its resem- 
blance to a loaf of sugar. The Pan has had 
great celebrity among navigators, as from it 
they have long been accustomed to get their 
bearings off a dangerous coast none too well 
marked by artificial aids to navigation. 

Westward from Matanzas the dividing 
ridge, locally known as the Cordillera de los 
Organos, is more continuous, following the 
crescent line of the north shore until it culmi- 
nates in the Pan de Guajaibon, a peak 2000 
feet in height. Thence westward the eleva- 
tion gradually declines and broadens out till 
it reaches the terminating peak, the Cerro de 
la Cabra, which is west of Pinar del Rio. 
Then comes a rapid descent, and the last dis- 
jointed vertebra of the island disappears in 
the sandy dunes and low-lying marshes 
of Cape San Antonio, which mark this end 



14 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

of Cuba in striking contrast to the towering 
elevations of Cape Maisi at the east.* 

To recapitulate, it may be stated in general 
terms that the island possesses a central 
mountain chain reaching from Guardiana 
Bay to Cape Maisi and then bending around 
to the south and west to Cape Cruz — at- 
taining, in places, great elevation, and again 
almost dropping to the sea level. In all the 
aggregation of mountains there is but one 
well-defined, continuous chain — the Sierra 
Maestra. Finally, the island may be con- 
veniently considered as divided into 
three orographic districts or groups, 
designated respectively as the Western or 
Pinar del Rio group, the Central or Santa 
Clara and Matanzas groups, and the Eastern 
or Santiago group. 

The western district, extending from Cape 
San Antonio to the meridian of Point Hica- 
cos, includes the narrowest part of the island, 
and is very mountainous and broken. The 
northern slopes are watered by many small 

* The decreasing level of the limestone formations of the 
island of Cuba toward the north and west indicates the sub- 
marine connection of those rocks with the lands equally low 
of . . . Florida. — Humboldt. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 15 

streams. The slope to the south coast is 
gradual; in the interior the country is fertile, 
but is very marshy near the coast. Here, be- 
tween the Bay of Cortes on the west and the 
village of Majana on the east, are the vast 
tobacco plantations that have made the 
Vuelta Abajo rich and famous. From Ma- 
jana eastward to the Maribeque River is the 
zoophitic district, in which are found the 
great caves of Gabriel, Turibacoa, Jaiguan, 
Guanimar, and many others. 

The central zone may be defined as lying 
between Matanzas and the western boundary 
of the province of Puerto Principe. It con- 
tains the best and also the worst land on the 
island, for by the side of the extremely fertile 
plains, watered by many rivers, are to be 
found districts entirely sterile. The north 
and south coasts, covered by a skirmish line 
of reefs and keys, are low and marshy except 
for a few stretches of limited extent. 

In the eastern zone, the districts to the 
north and south of Puerto Principe are quite 
low and flat, except in the sporadic moun- 
tain clusters previously alluded to. The 
plains of the north coast are marshy, but as 
we penetrate inland we find them becoming 



1 6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

sandy and barren. The southern plains of 
this zone, although sometimes overflowed 
along the coast, are in the interior covered 
with fine pastures and luxuriant forests. 
The eastern extremity is., as already stated, 
very mountainous, cut up with copious 
streams, and interspersed with tracts of 
great fertility. 

There are no active volcanoes on the island, 
but many extinct ones are recognizable in 
the characteristic cones, and in the pumice 
and other plutonic rocks of which they are 
composed. It is quite evident that the Ojo 
del Toro, Pico Turquino, and others were 
formerly active. 

Earthquakes occur chiefly in the province 
of Santiago de Cuba. That of 1776, when 
our forefathers were beginning their strug- 
gle for independence, was remarkable for its 
severity and the ruin it wrought, as was that 
of 1842, and, above all, that of 1852. Else- 
where in the island these convulsions have 
been rare and much less destructive. 

WATER COURSES. 

From the shape and formation of Cuba, 
and from its orographical features, it is ob- 



DESCRIPTIVE. 17 

vious that the rivers, while they may be great 
in number, cannot be so in length.* Yet 
from the large amount of rainfall in the wet 
season, the streams at that time carry great 
volumes of water. 

The Cuban mountains, formed of meta- 
morphic rocks, appear to have had deposited 
upon them a thick layer of calcareous ma- 
terial, reaching down the slopes to the coast 
marshes; and it is only in some places that 
the underlying older formations project, like 
the vertebras of some gigantic extinct ani- 
mal, half buried in the seas and its own 
detritus — the limestone formation represent- 
ing the ancient flesh, the vegetable mold 
the cuticle, and the vegetation the hairy cov- 
ering. 

And more, this carcass is nearly all hollow 
within, for the descending water has dissolved 
the limestone, forming long underground 
galleries into which it plunges to appear and 
disappear again, or to lie in great cavernous 

* The cavernous texture of the limestone formations, the 
great inclination of their shelves, the smallness [narrowness] 
of the island, the frequency and nakedness of the plains . . . 
may be considered among the principal causes of the want of 
rivers and the drought which is felt, especially in the western 
part of Cuba. — Humboldt. 



1 8 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

reservoirs, from which, on account of their 
elevation, it is often forced by hydrostatic 
pressure fresh to the surface far out at sea. 
Elisee Reclus tells us that " in the Jardines 
[east of the Isle of Pinos], so named from the 
verdure-clad islets strewn like gardens amid 
the blue waters, springs of fresh water bub- 
ble up from the deep, flowing probably in sub- 
terranean galleries from the mainland." 

There are few countries in the world more 
remarkable for the size and number of their 
subterranean cavities than this long and nar- 
row " Pearl of the Antilles." Among the 
most remarkable and famous caves are those 
of Resolladero Guacanaya, in Guaniguanico; 
Maria Belen, in the Sierra de Afiafe; that of 
Cotilla, near San Jose de las Lajas, fifteen 
miles southeast of Habana; the magnificent 
caves of Bellamar in Matanzas; and those of 
San Jose de los Remedios; together with the 
caverns of Cubitas, of Gibara, of Yumuri, of 
Holguin, and of Bayamo, while north of 
Guantanamo are the noted Monte Libano 
caverns. 

Among the streams that " lose them- 
selves " is the Rio San Antonio, in the prov- 
ince of Habana, which drains the wonderful 



ENVIRONS OF LAKE ARIGUANABO. 



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; °Delgado v . 



a Conchita 
! Perdigon 



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fttt* 1 






CaioM o 




Scale of Miles. 



20 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

lake of Ariguanabo, about 20 miles south- 
west of Habana city, disappearing beneath 
a large, spreading ceiba tree, after passing 
through the town of San Antonio Abad or 
San Antonio de los Bafios. On the maps the 
streams appear to flow into the lake; but the 
reverse is the case, as, in reality, it serves to 
drain the latter and keep its waters fresh. A 
similar phenomenon is remarked in the Rio 
de las Capellanias or Rio Guanajay, which 
takes its rise in the Mesa del Mariel, flows 
directly south for a dozen miles, and disap- 
pears near the village of San Andres, not far 
from the railway station. 

Other streams possessing this characteris- 
tic are: the Rio Jatibonico del Norte, which 
rises in the Sierra de Jatibonico, soon disap- 
pears, and reappears eventually in a succession 
of noisy cascades; the Rio Mayari, rising 
among the cuchillas of Santiago and dis- 
charging into the Bay of Nipe, producing in 
its short course three fine cataracts; and the 
short stream called the Moa, which has in its 
chief affluent a remarkable cataract with a 
fall of 300 feet, and also a cave into which it 
plunges to appear again further down. The 
latter, like the Rio Mayari, is born among the 



DESCRIPTIVE. 21 

cuchillas, and flows into the sea on the north 
coast. 

The Macaguanigua, which empties into the 
Baracoa bay, besides having had " pearls in 
its mouth," has also in its affluent, the Minas, 
a most beautiful cascade. 

The San Diego, taking its rise in the high 
and thin ridges of the Gavilanes (province of 
Pinar del Rio), passes in its course under some 
beautiful natural arches or bridges called 
Los Portales. 

So much for the wonderful cataracts and 
caves of Cuba, a study and a marvel in them- 
selves, but which here can only be referred to, 
not described. 

As before stated, the rivers of Cuba are 
many, rather than large. Some few are nav- 
igable for short distances for vessels of very 
light draught. One, the Cauto, draining 
the triangular valley formed by the Sierra 
Maestra and the main chain of the island, is 
navigable for fifty miles to Cauto or El Em- 
barcadero. This is the largest river in the 
island, but at its mouth is a treacherous bar 
that was shifted in 1616 by a heavy flood, im- 
prisoning many vessels, including a Spanish 
man-of-war, all of which had to be abandoned. 



2 2 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Among the other more important rivers 
may be named the Mantua, Pan de Azucar 
Banes, and Marianao, in the province of Pinar 
del Rio; the Chorrera or Almendares 
(almond groves) is the river which supplies 
Habana with water, being deflected near the 
Vento springs by means of an iron aqueduct; 
the Jatibonico, which empties into the Broa 
inlet, defines the boundary between the 
provinces of Matanzas and Santa Clara; the 
Govea, which empties into the lake of Ari- 
guanabo, and the remarkable Rio San An- 
tonio (previously mentioned), which drains 
the lake and sinks beneath the great Ceiba of 
San Antonio de los Banos, are in the prov- 
ince of Habana; the Yumuri, the San Juan, 
and the Canimar, are navigable for short dis- 
tances and empty into Matanzas Bay; the 
tortuous Rio Palma is navigable for a few 
miles; the Sagua la Grande, the largest on 
the north coast, is about 90 miles- in length 
and navigable for 20 miles from its mouth; 
the Sagua la Chica (little Sagua) rises in the 
Sierra de Escambray and is navigable for a 
short distance; the Maximo, emptying into 
Sabinal Bay, is historically interesting be- 



DESCRIPTIVE, 23 

cause it is supposed that at its mouth Colum- 
bus disembarked October 27, 1492; the Sara- 
maguaca is a copious stream which empties 
into the port of Nuevitas. There are also the 
Jatibonico del Sur, navigable for 6 or 8 miles ; 
the Zaza, some 90 miles in length, at whose 
mouth is the port of Las Tunas; the Aga- 
bama, navigable for a short distance; and the 
San Juan, which waters the beautiful plains of 
Manicaragua and empties into the bay of 
Jagua (Cienfuegos) in the province of Santa 
Clara. 

In the province of Santiago de Cuba are 
the rivers Yarigua, flowing into the port of 
Manati; and many other streams, besides the 
Macaguanigua and the Cauto, mentioned 
above. 

Cuba has few lakes. As a rule these lie 
near the coast in close proximity to the 
great marshes or everglades. Nevertheless 
there are some inclosed among the high 
hills of the central chain. Among the latter 
none is so remarkable as that of Ariguanabo, 
about 20 miles southwest of Habana and near 
San Antonio de los Bafios. Nestling among 
the neighboring ridges, it has a surface of 



24 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

about six square miles and a depth of thirty 
feet. It contains fish in large numbers. 
(See sketch map, p. 19.) 

Other lakes there are in the cienagas of 
the south coast — torrid quagmires, hidden 
away from everything except the burning 
sun, the tropical vegetation, and the loath- 
some alligators, and known only to the few 
Cubans who dwell in their vicinity. 

THE PLAINS. 

The eroded depressions and rolling slopes 
worn from the mountain chains constitute 
the main cultivable land of the island and 
furnish most of the rich, productive soil 
which, under the stimulus of the southern 
sun, yields the most plentiful and varied 
products. 

As these low lands compose four-fifths of 
the area of Cuba (Humboldt), it is readily seen 
how incalculable must be its wealth. The 
surface of the interior, gently undulating as in 
England, rises only from 80 to 100 feet above 
the level of the ocean. Especially celebrated 
for their fertility are the districts of Jagua 
(Cienfuegos), Trinidad, Matanzas, and 



DESCRIPTIVE. 25 

Mariel. The valley of Guines owes its celeb- 
rity to artificial irrigation (zanjas de riego). 
The plains largest in extent are: (1) that 
occupying the south side of the mountain 
chain from Pinar del Rio to and beyond 
Guines; (2) that extending from Cardenas to 
Holguin; and (3) that of Bayamo (the valley 
of the Cauto). These are broken, of course, 
by the groups of mountains and their slopes, 
but the general elevation is nowhere great, 
and if a subsidence of a few hundred feet were 
to take place, everything would disappear 
beneath the waves of the Atlantic except the 
mountain groups which have been described 
as forming the island backbone. 

The country may be broadly divided into the region of 
the plains, the rolling uplands, and the forest lands. The 
lowlands form a practically continuous belt around the 
island, and in them are to be found the great sugar plan- 
tations. Above these and on the lower slopes are found 
the grazing and farm lands, upon which, among other 
things, is raised the famous Habana tobacco. The 
remainder of the island, especially the eastern portion, 
is covered with a dense forest growth. — Scientific 
American. 

THE COASTS. 

The screen of islands, reefs, and banks in 
front of the Cuban coast covers about 



26 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

one-half of the perimeter of the island, caus- 
ing great inconvenience to navigation, and 
making portions of the mainland very diffi- 
cult of access. This screen once passed, pro- 
tection is afforded and navigation made easy. 
The 'reefs are of calcareous origin, and have 
been and are still being built by the coral in- 
sects, the carcasses of whose ancestors now 
form the costal arches of Cuba proper. 

Four well-defined locations in front of the 
coast are marked by these breakwaters: (i) 
From Cape San Antonio to Bahia Honda is 
the archipelago of Guaniguanico, which in- 
cludes the dangerous Bajos de los Colora- 
dos, or the Red Banks, the Cayo Ines de 
Soto (where fresh water may be obtained), 
Cayo Rapado, Santa Isabel, and others; (2) 
extending from Cape Hicacos (Cardenas) to 
Nuevitas are the reefs, keys, and banks known 
as the Sabana Camaguey, the eastern part 
having been called the King's Garden (Jar- 
din del Rey) by Columbus; (3) from Cape 
Cruz to Trinidad on the south coast the 
shore is fringed and its inclosed waters calmed 
by the protection afforded by the archipel- 
ago of Los Jardines de la Reina (the queen's 
gardens) in which are included the Labe- 



DESCRIPTIVE. 27 

rinto de los Doce Leguas (the twelve- 
league labyrinth), and the Bank of Good 
Hope (La Buena Esperanza); (4) from 
Cienfuegos to a point near the western end 
of the island the south coast is skirted at a 
considerable distance by the archipelago of 
the Jardines or Jardinillos (little gardens), in- 
cluding the Isle of Pines. The Jardinillos are 
the remarkable verdure-clad islets referred 
to by Reclus as obtaining, through subter- 
ranean conduits of rotten (porous) limestone, 
their fresh water stored many leagues away 
in the Cuban Highlands. 

The portions of the coast sheltered by 
these archipelagoes are generally marshy, 
and covered with a thick growth of man- 
grove and other tropical swamp flora. 
Frequently they contain, hidden away in 
their perennial verdure, lakes of fresh, salt, 
or brackish water. These marshy tracts are 
known by the general name of Cienaga 
(marsh or everglade). 

The Cienaga de Zapata, or shoe-shaped 
marsh, on the south coast, is one of the lar- 
gest and most characteristic of these swamps. 
It has a length of over 60 miles, is perfectly 
flat, and almost on a level with the sea. The 



28 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

contest between sea and land is here marked, 
at present, by victories and defeats in about 
equal proportion; but, in the end, owing to 
the barrier off this part of the coast, the land 
must gain by means of its own detritus and 
with the aid of its tireless coral allies. The 
stagnant waters of the Cienaga de Zapata 
are in places hedged about by sandy break- 
waters, and the currentless channels of former 
rivers are observed here and there among the 
mangrove thickets, which also are dotted by 
many lakes, some covered with the leaves of 
myriad lilies, and others reflecting, as from a 
mirror, the fiery heat of the southern sun. 
In some spots the ground is firm enough to 
support a clump of trees, but most of the 
surface consists of quagmires or boggy ex- 
panses inaccessible to man or beast. The 
entire coast line from Cienfuegos to Cabo 
Frances (French cape) is but a continuation 
of this great swamp. 

Where the shore is not hedged about by 
natural breakwaters (about one-half of the 
north and one-half of the south coast), the 
outline presented is high and bold, furnishing 
many capacious, well-protected harbors with 
narrow entrances, easy of defense. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 29 

Among the fine harbors of the north coast 
may be mentioned Bahia Honda, Cabanas, 
Mariel, Habana, Matanzas, Jibara, Nipe, and 
Baracoa. Those on the south are Guanta- 
namo, Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad, and Cien- 
fuegos. 

Some of the keys are inhabited, wher- 
ever sufficient fresh water can be obtained 
upon them, either from the subterranean 
sources or from the rain water caught in 
wells or stored in depressions. Many 
natural salt pans (salinas) are located along 
their margins, where the salt water is retained 
in shallow depressions and evaporated by the 
sun. The salinas along the inlet of Majana, 
and those of Choco, yield many hundreds of 
tons of salt annually. 

ISLAND OF PINES. 

The Island of Pines, named by Columbus 
" Evangelist Island," belongs to the judicial 
district of Bejucal. It is about 60 miles 
from east to west, with a maximum breadth 
of 55 miles, and an area of about 800 square 
miles. The population as given by the 
" Anuario del Comercio " for 1896 is 2000. 
Communication with the main island is kept 



3° 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



up through the port of Batabano, 60 miles 
distant. 

The principal town is Nueva Gerona, 




which was founded in 1853, and now has 900 
inhabitants. The village of Santa Fe, 14 
miles distant, is much frequented on account 
of its wonderful hot springs. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 3 1 

The Island of Pines consists in reality of 
two islands separated by a tidal swamp. 
Toward the eastern end of this swamp a few 
rocky ledges, flush with the water, have 
been utilized to construct a stone causeway 
between the two sections. These present a 
marked contrast: that on the north is wooded 
and mountainous, and its soil is extremely 
fertile; while the southern section is low, 
rocky, and barren. 

The principal products are marble, — 
many beautiful varieties of which exist in 
large quantities, — rock crystal, tortoise-shells, 
pine and turpentine, cedar, mahogany, and 
other valuable woods. There are also 
deposits of silver, mercury, and iron. 

GEOLOGY. 

It is quite well determined in the minds of 
geologists that Cuba at one time was united 
to the mainland of the continent, most prob- 
ably to Florida, during the geological period 
known as the post-pliocene. Proof of this 
is to be found in the animal remains,* such as 

*The fossil animals such as megalonyx, elephants, and 
hippopotami, found in the mioceiie rocks of the United States, 
have also been discovered in the Cuban formations of the same 



32 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

mastodons and the like, which are found 
to-day in the Cuban soil where it would not 
have been possible for them to pass with the 
present distribution of land and water. An 
additional proof exists in the similarity and 
dip of the Cuban rocks and those of the 
adjacent mainland.* 

Fernandez de Castro, a noted authority, 
concludes that in the rocks of the Cuban 
territory are represented all the great geo- 
logical divisions. In the western part of the 
island (Mantua) is a traditional area 
composed of quartzites and some very dark 
argillaceous slates, at times carboniferous, con- 
taining veins of copper which have been ex- 
ploited at times. A great part of the central 
orographical group, where the argillaceous 
slates and the dark, thin layers alternate 
with strata of gneiss and talc, appears to 
belong to the same epoch. Finally, on the 
north coast, in the Cerro de Dumanuecos, in 
the vicinity of Manati, there are great masses 

epoch. Hence the inference that at that time the island 
was connected with the neighboring mainland, and the Gulf 
Stream must have set in a different direction from its present 
course. — Rfalus. 
*See note to p. 14. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 33 

of quartzite, which should be included in this 
geological division. 

Fernandez de Castro is of the opinion that 
the triassic period is marked by two very 
extensive layers which, leaving between them 
a Jurassic layer, extend from the southwest 
of Mantua to the northeast of the San Diego 
baths. This group is characterized by sandy 
and variegated loams, full of ferruginous 
striae. The Jurassic formation is made up 
of dark-colored limestone and loams, some of 
which are bituminous. Calcareous spar and 
black jasper appear at times in the midst of 
the general mass of the terrain that forms 
the nucleus of the western orographic zone 
and extends from the neighborhood of Man- 
tua to Guanajay in a narrow strip some 6 
or 7 miles in length. In the Sierra 
Maestra and in other locations rocks corre- 
sponding to this period (Jurassic) also appear. 

Stratified gray calcareous loams, green 
clay, greenish limestone, micaceous quartz, 
and conglomerates are the rocks, which, with 
marked absence of fossils, characterize the 
cretaceous deposits of the Island of Cuba. 

In the environs of Habana and Guanaba- 
coa, near Vento and Cienfuegos, in a portion 



34 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

of the Sierra Maestra, in the railway cuts from 
Santiago to Sabanilla and Maroto, in the east 
of Pinar deL Rio, in the banks of the Cangre, 
and at the south of San Diego de los Banos, 
the cretaceous formation is found. If it 
appears in other districts it has been but very 
slightly recognized, if at all, geologically. 

With the exception of the above mentioned 
regions, and of those in which the post-plio- 
cene deposits cover the tertiary strata, these 
form the larger part of the soil of the island; 
although perhaps more careful investiga- 
tions than have thus far been made may force 
us to include, as belonging to older periods, 
many zones which are at present assigned to 
the tertiary. 

The three periods, eocene, miocene, and 
pliocene, appear to be very well marked, as 
much by their composition as by the abun- 
dance of their fossils; for there have been 
recognized of the latter more than 70 
classes and 200 species. 

Between Habana and Matanzas are found 
several banks of argillaceous loams, and some 
calcareous ones that correspond to the qua- 
ternary period, as is testified by their marine 
fossils, whose species are all living to-day. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 35 

The conglomerates of lime, of metamorphic 
rocks, or of iron, which are so abundant in 
the island, belong to the same period, as do 
also the calcareous deposits formed from shell 
remains, that have accumulated in the neigh- 
borhood of Habana, Nuevitas, and Matan- 
zas, and those that are continually formed 
and appear in the parts of the low coast which 
the upward movement of the ground is con- 
tinually exposing. 

The vegetable mold, known by the name 
of Red Earth (tierra colorada), very ferrugi- 
nous and suitable for the cultivation of coffee 
and sugar cane, forms the most important of 
deposits on account of its extent and agricul- 
tural value, and is among the most important 
of the modern period. The ferriferous alluvial 
masses that are met with between Pinar del 
Rio and Guanajay, between Cardenas and 
Sagua la Grande at the south of the Sierra 
Morena, on the Monte Libano, and in other 
places, also belong to the same period. 
In Pinar del Rio, in the cleared tracts of the 
Vuelta Abajo and in Manicaragua, Trinidad, 
Mazari, and Yara, important siliceous allu- 
vial deposits exist, which are utilized with 
remarkable success for the cultivation of 



36 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

tobacco. Of the formations of the present 
period, the most notable is that of the 
zoophytic limestone, which is continually 
transforming the Cuban littoral; increasing 
it, at times by extending the coast line, and at 
others by adding to it islets and keys, which 
in turn are often united to form larger ones, 
thanks to the constant work of the tireless 
zoophytes. 

Lastly, many other formations might be 
mentioned, such as the argillaceous alluvia 
that cover the extensive plains, the deposits 
of peat, the calcareous tufa, the travertine 
and the accumulations of detritus from 
metamorphic rocks; but the great number of 
these makes it impossible to give a detailed 
account of them in this brief sketch. The 
stalactite formations of the celebrated caves 
of Bellamar in Matanzas and those of Yumuri 
and Monte Libano deserve to be mentioned 
among others. 

The hypogenic rocks, granites, syenites, 
andesites, diorites, euphotites, and serpen- 
tines, extraordinarily abundant in the soil of 
the Island of Cuba, create the belief that the 
subsoil is made up almost exclusively from 
them. The serpentine is the most largely 



DESCRIPTIVE. 37 

exposed, forming a great extent of territory, 
of a thickness that attains 210 feet in Puerto 
Principe, and 600 in Guanacabuya and 
Madruga. In it are found rich mines of 
copper. Native gold abounds in very vari- 
able quantities. 

CLIMATE. 

Considering the tropical position of Cuba, 
and its slight general elevation, its climate 
may be regarded as mild. 

The seasons are popularly divided into the 
cfry and the wet or rainy, the latter of which 
extends through the months of May, June, 
July, August, September, and October. The 
dampness of the atmosphere averages over 
80 per cent, at all seasons, largely due to 
insular situation. 

The temperature in August is from 89° 
to 9I' F.; in December and January, from 70 - 
to 8o° F. The mean annual temperature at 
Habana is 78 F.; for the hottest month, 81 ° 
F.; for the coldest, 70 F. (de la Sagra); 
but refreshing breezes redeem what 
would otherwise be, during the rainy 
season, an extremely warm climate, while the 
dry season may be described as delightful. 
The prevailing winds are from the north and 



33 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



northwest. The eastern part of the island 
receives more rain than the western, and the 
mean annual rainfall is about 40 inches. 
Hurricanes are frequent and, at long inter- 
vals, disastrous, as were those of 1844, 1846, 
1865, and 1870. In this respect, however, 
Cuba is more fortunate than the other 
Antilles. 

Meteorological Conditions of Habana. 



Months. 



January. 
February. . . . 

March , 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September. . , 

October 

November. . , 
December. . , 

Means or 

Totals 



71 

74° 
74° 

76° 
78° 
8i° 
82° 

82° 

8o° 
79° 
75° 
73° 



77° F. 



82. 

84. 

82.8 

82.4 

85.4 

85. 

87.6 

88.2 

88.2 

85.2 

86.2 

84.8 



85.15 # 






IO4 



2-5 
2.T 
2.4 
1.2 
3-6 



41.0 in. 



Condition of Sky 



Cloudy 
Days. 



So 



Clear 
Days. 



26 
20 
24 

25 
23 
24 
25 
25 
23 
24 
22 
24 



285 



It is necessary to say, in this connection, 
that the incomplete data and observations 
made upon Cuban territory render it impos- 



DE SCRIP TI VE. 3 9 

sible to give much detailed or even very exact 
information concerning the climate. It is 
thought, however, that the preceding table 
from the " Historia fisica, politica y natural 
de la Isla de Cuba," by de la Sagra, will be 
found useful. 

According to the same authority the high- 
est temperature observed at Habana during 
a long period was 32 C. (90 F.), and the 
minimum io Q C. (50° F.) 

The coldest month is January and the 
warmest, August, with only a difference of 6° 
C. (23 F.). In the interior of the island 
local causes, such as the proximity 
of forests or mountains, or the greater 
or less barrenness of the terrain, influ- 
ence the temperature, giving results different 
from those experienced at Habana. 

Rarely are there more than 20 rainy 
days in any one month, and the average is 
from 8 to 10. The rainfall is generally in the 
afternoon, and on an average there are only 
17 days in the year in which it rains in both 
forenoon and afternoon. 

Such effects with the splendid sun, the few 
completely cloudy days, copious rains in the 
warmest season and abundant breezes when 



4° THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the rains fail, make Cuba for vegetation a 
terrestrial paradise, and for climate, one of 
the best, if not the very best, of intertropical 
regions. 

The visitor from the far north is at once 
impressed with the distinctness of distant 
objects — due to the great transparency of 
the atmosphere. At night, too, the appear- 
ance of the sky is far more beautiful than in 
northern countries, and the air does not seem 
to lose its transparency with the departure of 
day. On the open plains the light of the 
stars alone is usually sufficient for the 
traveler. The sunsets are remarkable for 
their soft, mellow glow, all too brief for the 
eye accustomed to the lingering twilight of 
northern climes. The sea is incomparably 
beautiful — deep green with shifting coppery 
lights, like liquid opal. Northern skies are 
never reflected in waters of such fanciful hues, 
and were an artist to depict them truthfully 
he would be declared color-mad. 

PRODUCTS. 

The Cuban soil possesses all the strength 
and characteristics due to its position in the 
torrid zone, and is so fertile that two crops of 



DESCRIPTIVE. 41 

some cereals are frequently obtained in the 
same year. The foliage is green at all 
seasons, but, notwithstanding the exuber- 
ance of the tropical vegetation, the land- 
scapes often present an arid appearance owing 
to the almost total absence of grass-covered 
fields and hillsides. 

The mineral products of Cuba have not 
attracted much attention, although rich ore 
deposits exist in many parts of the island. 

Copper occurs in the extreme eastern and 
western departments, Santiago de Cuba and 
Pinar del Rio. The mines at present in 
operation are in the former province, 12 miles 
out of Santiago de Cuba, and support a min- 
ing population of over 2000. The daily 
yield is several tons, the larger and more 
valuable pieces of the ore being shipped direct 
to Europe, while the smaller and poorer are 
smelted at the mines. 

Bituminous coal of fine quality, yielding 
little ash, is found in large quantities in many 
parts of the island, from the coast to the 
mountains. That found near the coast is 
often in a viscous state. 

Marble of many varieties and of fine 
quality is abundant, and is distributed 



42 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

through most of the provinces, the Island of 
Pines being especially favored. 

Gold is found in the central provinces, at 
Sagua la Grande, in the banks of the Holguin, 
and other rivers. But at this date there is 
no reason to suppose that Cuba will ever 
assume importance as a gold producer. 

Iron ore, yielding a metal that makes a 
superb quality of steel, is mined in the prov- 
ince of Santiago de Cuba, especially in the 
immediate vicinity of its capital. At Alto 
Songo, 19 miles from Santiago de Cuba, 
manganese is exploited. At Juragua, Caney, 
and Cobre (12 miles from Santiago de Cuba) 
several different classes of ores are found. 

The mines reported in Cuba (1891-92) 
were as follows: 

Of iron 138 

" manganese, ..... 88 

" copper, 53 

The chief wealth of the island is, however, 
in its agricultural products, the principal of 
which are sugar, tobacco, and coffee. 

The first sugar plantation was established 
in 1595; but the industry did not assume 
prime importance until the present century. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 43 

In addition to the burden of heavy taxation, 
the trade has of late years suffered severely 
from competition with beet sugar. The 
yield in 1 894—95 was 1,040,000 tons, with 
an estimated addition of 400,000 tons of 
molasses and an unknown quantity of rum. 
The falling off in the quantity, sent to Great 
Britain is remarkable, being from Cuba and 
Puerto Rico: 



In 1879 of the value of 

" 1880 " " " " 

« 1888 " " " " 

" 1890 " " " " 



$6,290,856 
3730.058 
1,079,049 

75.983 
46,706 



Tobacco is indigenous in Cuba, and its 
quality is so universally known that it need 
not be spoken of at length here. The 
export for 1892 was 240,000 bales and 
166,712,000 cigars. 

Coffee was introduced by the French into 
Martinique in 1727, but did not make its 
appearance in Cuba until 1769, 42 years later. 
It was the revolution in Santo Domingo that 
gave the first great stimulus to coffee-raising 
in Cuba. The refugees from Santo Do- 
mingo sought shelter wherever they could 
among the nearest islands, and large 



44 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

numbers settled in the eastern end of Cuba. 
Here they turned into smiling gardens lands 
that had been idle for centuries, and the 
production of the favorite berry became very 
profitable for a number of years, many car- 
goes being shipped annually to the United 
States from the ports of Trinidad and 
Santiago. Coffee no longer figures to any 
extent in the statistics of exports. Exorbit- 
ant taxation and the ravages of civil war, in 
the coffee districts especially, are largely the 
cause of the loss of an important and 
profitable industry. 

According to statistics furnished by the 
New York Chamber of Commerce, the 
amount of coffee produced in Cuba during 
the ten years prior to 1885 was 24,000 cwt., 
as compared with 192,500 cwt. in Puerto 
Rico, 1,400,000 cwt. in Java and Sumatra, 
and 4,250,000 cwt. in Brazil. 

The low lands on the coast are admirably 
adapted to the growth of the fine sea-island 
cotton. Maize, or Indian corn, peppers, 
yams, and sweet potatoes are raised for home 
use. Almost all the fruits of the tropics and 
subtropics grow freely, as the pineapple, 
the orange, the plantain, the banana, the fig, 



DESCRIPTIVE. 45 

and the pomegranate. Cocoa, cassava, 
honey, and wax are produced both for home 
consumption and for export. 

The dense, uncleared forests of Cuba are 
estimated at 13,000,000 acres, abounding in 
tropical and other valuable woods, includ- 
ing mahogany, ebony, cedar, sabicu, and 
granadillo. 

All of the large trees of the Mexican coast, 
so remarkable for their majestic growth, for 
the beauty of their foliage, the splendor and 
fragrance of their flowers, reappear on the 
Cuban seaboard. Over thirty species of 
palms are here met with in association with 
trees such as the pine, which seems so 
characteristic of the temperate zone and 
which gives its name to the Isla de Pinos, 
where it is found intermingled with palms 
and mahogany. The botanical catalogue 
of 1876 enumerates altogether 3350 indig- 
enous flowering plants, besides those intro- 
duced by Europeans. 

COMMUNICATIONS. 

The communications (by road, railway, and 
boat) have never been, good or sufficient. 
The roads themselves, as a rule, are mere 



46 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

trails, and in the wet season are in a deplora- 
ble condition. 

Wagon Roads. — The most famous is 
called the Camino Central (or the Central 
road), and runs from Habana to Santiago de 
Cuba, passing through Luyano, San Miguel 
del Padron, Santa Maria del Rosario, Jaruco, 
Limonar, Guamutas, Ceja de Pablo, Alvarez, 
Esperanza, Santa Clara, Santo Espiritu, 
Ciego de Avila, Puerto Principe, Tunas, Ba- 
yamo, Jiguani, and Palma Soriano. 

A calzada is a paved highway, or turnpike; 
and of these there are the following, all of 
which have been constructed at the expense 
of the Government (i. e., have been paid for 
from the Cuban budget): 

Coloma to Pinar del Rio, . . . .15 miles 
Habana to San Cristobal, and thence to Pinar 

del Rio, 60 " 

(N. B. — From Habana to Guanajay 
this road is called the Western Calzada ; 
and from the latter point to its terminus 
it is known as the Southwestern Calzada.) 
Habana to Bejucal, called the Southern Cal- 
zada, 15 " 

Batabano to the beach, . . . . i\ " 

Habana to Giiines, known as the Southeastern 

Calzada, 30 " 



DESCRIPTIVE. 47 

Habana to Santa Maria del Rosario, . .15 miles 
Luyano to the eastern outskirts of Guana- 

bacoa, called the Eastern Calzada, . 12 " 

(N. B. — It is proposed to extend this 

road to Matanzas.) 
Nunez to La Canoa, 26 " 

In addition there are numerous short 
calzadas built by the municipalities of the 
towns which they benefit. 

Outside the cities the universal passenger 
vehicle is the volant e (" flyer "), which con- 
sists of a two-seated carriage slung rather 
low down, by leather straps, from the axle of 
two very large wheels, and having shafts 15 
feet long. The horse in the shafts is led by 
a postilion, whose horse is also harnessed to 
the carriage with traces. In the case of a long 
and rough journey, a third horse is harnessed 
on the other side of the shafts in the same 
manner. This carriage is extremely com- 
fortable to travel in, and the great height of 
the wheels and their distance apart prevent 
all danger of turning over — a very desirable 
attribute in view of the condition of most of 
the roads in the interior. 

Merchandise, when not sent by rail, is 
usually transported by heavy carts drawn by 



4^ THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

oxen or mules. Pack mules are employed 
where the roads cannot be used by the carts. 

Railroads. — The railway lines of Cuba, 
comprising upward of iooo miles of track, 
are controlled by the 10 companies enumer- 
ated below. In addition there are numerous 
private roads (mostly narrow-gauge), which 
have been built by the sugar planters to 
connect their estates with the main lines. 
The public railroads now in operation are as 
follows : 

(i) The United Railways Co. (Ferro- 
carriles Unidos), with four lines: (a) 
Habana to Matanzas, (b) Habana to Bata- 
bano, (c) Habana to La Union, (d) Habana 
to Guanajay. The lines of this company 
traverse the most populous districts of the 
island, and by their junction with other 
lines most of the remaining railway points in 
Cuba can be reached. 

(2) The Western Railway (Ferrocarril Occi- 
dente) traverses the Vuelta Abajo tobacco 
district, reaching the city of Pinar del Rio, 
106 miles southwest from Habana. 

(3) The Cardenas and Jucaro Railway 
(Ferrocarril Cardenas-Jucaro), with main 
line from Cardenas to Santa Clara. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 49 

(4) The Matanzas Railway (Ferrocarril de 
Matanzas) with (a) line from Matanzas to 
Murga, (b) line from Matanzas to Guaveiras. 

(5) The Sagua la Grande Railway (Ferro- 
carril Sagua la Grande), line from Concha to 
Cruces. 

(6) The Cienfuegos and Santa Clara Rail- 
way (Ferrocarril Cienfuegos-Santa Clara). 

(7) The Caibarien United Railways (Ferro- 
carriles Unidos de Caibarien), with line from 
Caibarien to Placetas. 

(8) The Puerto Principe and Nuevitas 
Railway (Ferrocarril de Puerto Principe- 
Nuevitas) connecting the capital of the 
province with its port. 

(9) The Guantanamo Railway (Ferro- 
carril de Guantanamo). 

(10) The Marianao Railway (Ferro- 
carril de Marianao), a short suburban line of 
8^ miles, connecting Habana with Marianao 
and La Playa, used chiefly for passenger 
traffic. 

Eventually, doubtless, there will be con- 
tinuous railway communication from Pinar 
del Rio to Santiago de Cuba, approximately 
following the axis of the island, touching at 
Habana, Santa Clara, Santo Espiritu, 



S° THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Puerto Principe, Las Tunas, and Holguin, 
and throwing off branches to all important 
harbors, ports, and towns not touched by the 
main line. 

Steamers. — There are frequent coastwise 
and foreign steamers connecting Cuban 
coast towns with each other and with the 
outer world. The steamers of the Linea 
Transatlantica ply between Habana and 
Cadiz, Santander, and Corufia, at intervals 
of 10 days. There is a monthly steamer 
between Vera Cruz and Southampton, 
stopping at St. Thomas and at Habana. 
A French line runs from Saint 
Nazaire to Habana, stopping at Santander. 
There are regular lines from Habana to 
Sisal and Vera Cruz; from Habana to Colon, 
stopping at Nuevitas and Jibara; from 
Habana to Puerto Rico, stopping at all the 
principal Cuban ports of the north coast; 
a French line from Habana to Vera Cruz and 
New Orleans; a German line from Habana 
to Hamburg; and a steamer running twice a 
week between Habana and Key West. 

The following are the steamship lines from 
New York to Habana: 

New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Co., 



DESCRIPTIVE. SI 

for Habana every Wednesday and Sat- 
urday. Steamers Seguranca, Habana and 
Mexican ports; Saratoga, Habana and Tam- 
pico; Seneca, Habana and Mexican ports. 
For Nassau, Santiago, and Cienfuegos, via 
Guantanamo, every alternate Thursday, 
Steamer Santiago. Jas. E. Ward & Co., 
agents, 113 Wall Street, New York. 

Munson Steamship Line from New York 
for Matanzas, Cardenas, and Sagua, Steamers 
Ardanmohr, Ardanrose, and Ardandhu. Also 
from Philadelphia for Habana, Tampico, 
and Vera Cruz, Steamer Vittoria. W. D. 
Munson, 80 Wall Street, New York. 

Compania Transatlantica Espaiiola (for- 
merly A. Lopez & Co., North American 
Branch, under contract with the Spanish 
Government). Steamers leave New York 
for Habana direct on the 10th, 20th, and 30th 
of every month. J. M. Ceballos & Co., 
agents, pier 10, East River, 

Bea Bellido & Co. line of steamers for 
Matanzas, Cardenas, Sagua, and Caibarien. 
Waydell & Co., 21 Old Slip. 

Regular line for Guantanamo, Santi- 
ago, and Cienfuegos. Steamer Ardangorm 
Waydell & Co., 21 Old Slip. 



5 2 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Coastwise steamers ply, with more or less 
regularity, between Habana and Cardenas; 
Habana, Sagua, and Caibarien; Habana and 
Santiago de Cuba, calling at Nuevitas, 
Jibara, Baracoa, and Guantanamo; Batabano 
and Santiago, landing at Cienfuegos, Trini- 
dad, Las Tunas, Santa Cruz, and Man- 
zanillo; Batabano and the Isle of Pines; 
Batabano and Bailen, calling at Dayaniguas, 
Coloma, Colon, Punta de Cartas, and 
Laguna de Cortes; Habana and San 
Cayetano, landing at Bahia Honda. 

Cable and Telegraph. — The only towns in 
Cuba having cable connections are Habana, 
Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba. 

The International Ocean Telegraph Co. 
has a cable from Habana to Florida in 
connection with the Western Union Tele- 
graph Co. of the United States. 

The Cuba Submarine Telegraph Co. 
(Limited) has a cable connecting Habana 
with Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos. 

The West India and Panama Telegraph 
Co. has a cable connecting Habana 
with Santiago de Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto 
Rico, the Lesser Antilles, and the Isthmus of 
Panama. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 53 

The Compagnie Franchise de Cables Sous- 
Marins has a cable connecting Habana with 
Santiago de Cuba, Haiti, Santo Domingo, 
Venezuela, and Brazil. 

The telegraph system in Cuba is in the 
hands of the Government. There are wires 
connecting all . the principal towns and 
villages in the island. 

Telephones. — The telephone system in 
Habana also belongs to the Government, but 
is farmed out for a limited number of years to 
a compan}^ called the Red Telefdnica de la 
Habana. Nearly all the public and private 
buildings in the city and suburbs are con- 
nected by telephone. 

GAZETTEER OF THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 
PROVINCES. 

Cuba is politically divided into six 
provinces. The name of the province and of 
its chief city is in each instance the same. 
Each province is divided into several judicial 
districts, whose names are important to the 
reader because events are often said to take 
place in a certain district, while the province 
is not named. The tract of country sur- 



54 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

rounding, and pertaining to, each town, will 
be called a township. The provinces, taken 
in order from west to east, are: Pinar del 
Rio, Habana, Matanzas, Santa Clara, Puerto 
Principe, and Santiago de Cuba. 

Pinar del Rio is the famous tobacco region 
whose choice products are usually bought 
up in advance by speculators and retailed at 
exorbitant prices to European potentates 
and other wealthy customers. The less im- 
portant agricultural products are sugar, 
coffee, rice, corn, cotton, and fruits. Com- 
munications with Habana and throughout 
the province are abundant and good. 

Habana. — This important province yields 
all the various agricultural products of the 
island, and is the principal manufacturing 
center. Coal is exploited to a small extent. 

Matanzas, a center of sugar production, is 
one of the richest and most developed por- 
tions of the island. It produces also corn, 
rice, fruits, honey, and wax. Peat is found, 
and mines of copper have been worked. 

Santa Ctara, formerly called Las Cinco 
Villas (the five towns) on account of the 
five towns founded within its limits by 
Diego Velazquez, is one of the richest, as it 



DESCRIPTIVE. 55 

was one of the first settled, parts of the island. 
It contains some of the largest sugar planta- 
tions and factories. Its rich soil yields in 
abundance all the special products of the 
Antilles; and the fruits of the temperate 
zone thrive on the elevated slopes of its 
mountain ranges. It is rich too in minerals, 
furnishing silver, copper, and asphalt; and 
gold has been found in the sands of the 
Arimo river. 

Puerto Principe includes the part of the 
island often referred to as Camaguey, which 
was formerly the central department. It is 
a mountainous region, and contains immense 
forests, still in a state of nature. Here too 
are the largest caves in Cuba; and in the in- 
accessible heights of this province the pres- 
ent insurgents have fixed their temporary 
capital. The principal industries are the 
cutting of building and cabinet woods and 
the preparation of preserves of guava. The 
province has suffered from being repeatedly 
the seat of insurrection. 

Santiago de Cuba. — This large and 
wealthy province abounds in all that distin- 
guishes the others, and in mineral riches 
surpasses them all. Its mountains contain 



56 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



gold, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, zinc, 
asphalt, marble, alabaster, rock crystal, and 
gems. Its commerce enlivens the ports of 
Mayari, Gibara, Baracoa, Cuba (Santiago 
de Cuba) Guantanamo, and Manzanillo. 



DISTRICTS INTO WHICH THE SIX PROVINCES ARE 
DIVIDED. 



Name. 


Population. 


Province in which situated. 


Alfonso XII., 


33,887 


Matanzas. 


Baracoa, 


18,057 


Santiago de Cuba. 


Bejucal, 


43,709 


Habana. 


Cardenas, 


53,882 


Matanzas. 


Cienfuegos, 


72,187 


Santa Clara. 


Colon, 


79,390 


Matanzas. 


Guanabacoa, 


32,344 


Habana. 


Guanajay, 


59.348 


Pinar del Rio. 


Guane, 


56,393 


Pinar del Rio. 


Guantanamo, 


30,044 


Santiago de Cuba. 


Giiines, 


45,577 


Habana. 


Habana, 


213,500 


Habana. 


Holguin, 


58,900 


Santiago de Cuba. 


Jaruco, 


38,403 


Habana. 


Juan de los Remedios, 


15,358 


Santa Clara. 


Manzanillo, 


25,735 


Santiago de Cuba. 


Marianao, 


7,352 


Habana. 


Matanzas, 


86,249 


Matanzas. 


Moron, 


57,62o 


Puerto Principe. 


Pinar del Rio, 


70,565 


Pinar del Rio. 


Puerto Principe, 


66,457 


Puerto Principe. 


Sagua la Grande, 


79,126 


Santa Clara. 


San Antonio de los Bafios, 


32,961 


Habana. 


San Cristobal, 


44,7oo 


Pinar del Rio. 


Santiago de Cuba, 


62,600 


Santiago de Cuba. 



DE SCRIP TIVE. 5 7 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CITIES AND TOWNS. 

Aguacate, province of Habana, 13 miles 
from Jaruco, population, 1427; of township, 
4028. 

Alfonso XII. , province of Matanzas, 13 
miles from Matanzas, population, 3000. 

Alonso Rojas, province of Pinar del Rio, 
28 miles from Pinar del Rio, population, 200; 
of township, 4156. 

Alquizar, province of Habana, population, 
2700; of township, 8700. 

Alto Songo, province of Santiago de Cuba, 
19 miles from that city, population, 400; of 
township, 12,000. 

Amaro, province of Santa Clara, popula- 
tion, 320; of township, 7251. 

Artemisa, province of Pinar del Rio, 10 
miles from Guanajay, population, 4587; of 
township, 9286. 

Bahia Honda, province of Pinar del Rio, 
population, 1889; of township, 8534. Has 
one of the finest harbors in Cuba. 

Bainoa, province of Habana, 8 miles from 
Jaruco, population, 1000; of township, 3500. 

Bajo, province of Pinar del Rio, population, 
164; of township, 4393. - 

Baracoa, province of Santiago de Cuba, 



58 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the first city laid out in Cuba (15 12); popu- 
lation, 5213; of township, 18,092. The 
principal products are bananas and cocoa, and 
the oil of the latter. The caves in the 
vicinity are remarkable for their stalactites 
and fossil human remains. 

Batabano, province of Habana, 45 miles 
from the capital, population, 1864; of town- 
ship, 8518. 

Bayamo, province of Santiago de Cuba, 
94 miles from that city, population, 3634; of 
township, 17,719. 

Bejucal, province of Habana, 21 miles 
from the capital, population, 6239; of town- 
ship, 8972. 

Bemba (see Jovellanos). 

Bolondron, province of Matanzas, 29 miles 
from Habana, population, 1758; of township, 
11,816. 

Cabanas, province of Pinar del Rio, popu- 
lation, 1509; of township, 8650. It is situ- 
ated near a fine bay, whose narrow entrance 
is guarded by Fort Reina Amalia. 

Caibarien, province of Santa Clara, popu- 
lation, 5300; of township, 8128 — has a good 
harbor. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 59 

Calabazar, province of Santa Clara, popu- 
lation, 1 481; of township, 8898. 

Camerones, province of Santa Clara, 16 
miles from Cienfuegos, population, 546; of 
township, 8600. 

Canasi, province of Matanzas, 17 miles from 
that city, population, 700; of township, 
8600. 

Candelaria, province of Pinar del Rio, 6 
miles from San Cristobal, population, 1200; 
of township, 6300. Noted for its mineral 
springs and the excellence of its coffee. 

Caney, province of Santiago de Cuba, 
population, 700; of township, 8600. 

Cardenas, province of Matanzas, 30 miles 
from that city, population, 20,505; of town- 
ship, 33,882. It is a rich and handsome city 
with flourishing trade and manufactures of 
liquors, soaps, cigars, etc. 

Cartagena, province of Santa Clara, 24 
miles from Cienfuegos, population, 1497; of 
township, 8915. 

Catalina, province of Habana, 45 miles 
from the capital, population, 11 65; of town- 
ship, 7000. 

Cayajalos, province of Pinar del Rio, 12 



60 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

miles from Guanajay, population, 1352; of 
township, 8129. 

Ceiba del Agua, province of Habana, 3 
miles from San Antonio de los Bafios, popu- 
lation, 892; of township, 3252. 

Cervantes, province of Matanzas, 12 miles 
from Colon, population, 1560; of township, 
4000. 

Cidra, province of Matanzas, 3 miles from 
Santa Ana, population, 695; of township, 
4170. 

Ciego de Avila, province of Puerto 
Principe, population, 11 67; of township, 
7000. It occupies the central position on the 
old Trocha, or military line of defense. 

Cienfuegos, province of Santa Clara, popu- 
lation, 26,790; of township, 41,000. This is 
a modern city, built on the fine harbor of 
Jagua, and is one of the richest and most 
beautiful in the island. 

Cimarrones, province of Matanzas, 13 
miles from Cardenas, population, 300; of 
township, 8746. 

Colon, province of Matanzas, 84 miles 
from that city, population 6525; of town- 
ship, 16,679 — tne heart of the sugar-pro- 
ducing region. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 6 1 

Consolacion del Sur, province of Pinar del 
Rio, 4 miles from the city of that name, 
population, 2000; of township, 16,057. It 
is the second city of the province in im- 
portance. Has over 800 plantations of the 
finest tobacco. 

Corral Nuevo, province of Matanzas, popu- 
lation, 2092; of township, 12,575. 

Cuevitas, province of Matanzas, 20 miles 
from Colon, population, 1629; of township, 

6551. 

Gibara, province of Santiago de Cuba, 
population, 4608; of township, 26,844. The 
town has a magnificent harbor on the north 
coast, admitting vessels of 16 feet draft. Its 
trade is in sugar, coffee, tobacco, fruits, and 
native woods. 

Guana, province of Habana, 8 miles from 
Giiines, population, 4650; of township, 

13,950. • 

Guanabacoa, suburb of Habana, popu- 
lation, 11,144. 

Guanajay, province of Pinar del Rio, 26 
miles from Habana, population, 5792; of 
township, 9491. 

Guanajayabo, province of Matanzas, popu- 
lation, 2879; of township, 8132. 



62 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Guane, province of Pinar del Rio, 28 
miles from the town of that name, popu- 
lation, 510; of township, 5000. 

Guantanamo, province of Santiago de 
Cuba, population, 9000; of township, 24,000. 
The bay is one of the finest on the coast. 

Guira de Melena, province of Habana, 
population, 3500; of township, 9500. 

Habana is the chief city of the province of 
that name and the capital of the whole 
island. It has a population of 200,000, 
which, however, is subject to fluctuations. 
It contains many fine buildings, of which the 
most conspicuous is the cathedral, where 
repose the mortal remains of Columbus and 
of his son Diego. There are also the uni- 
versity of Habana, the residences of the 
Governor General and the bishop, three 
theaters and a number of educational and 
eleemosynary institutions. The opera house 
is one of the most magnificent in the world, 
and, with the great number of private 
carriages, indicates the wealth and luxurious 
tastes of the inhabitants. There is a botani- 
cal garden, and of the two public squares one 
is widely celebrated for its size and beauty. 
The streets are generally narrow, but the 



DESCRIPTIVE. 63 

promenade of Isabel Segunda, which trav- 
erses the center of the city, is very fine, having 
a broad carriage-way in the center and 
shaded walks on either side. It is also en- 
livened by fountains, of which there are 50 
in the city. 

For a long time the houses were kept low 
through fear of earthquakes; but now the 
greater number are of two stories, while 
some are much higher. The city is accom- 
modated by two separate systems of street 
railways. 

In peaceful and prosperous times the 
amount of business handled, both in trade 
and manufactures, is very great. Nearly all 
commercial nations have representative 
houses here; and the powers of the Governor 
General are so nearly regal that foreign 
consuls have to exercise diplomatic functions. 
As many as 3000 vessels enter and clear in a 
year. The spacious harbor, if dredged in the 
parts that are slowly filling up, would 
shelter the navies of the world. It is pro- 
vided with a floating dock, and is fringed 
with warehouses, wharves, and gaudy bath- 
ing houses. 

The principal defenses of Habana are the 



64 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



Castillo de la Punta to the west of the harbor 
entrance, the Castillo del Morro and San 
Carlos de la Cabana to the east, the Santo 
Domingo de Atares, which lies at the head 
of the western arm of the bay and commands 




CASTILLO DEL MORRO, AS SEEN FROM LA PUNTA. 



both the city and the neighborhood, and the 
Castillo del Principe, situated on an eminence 
to the west, and forming the terminus of the 
great Paseo Militar. El Morro, as it is 
popularly called, was first erected in 1589, 
but additions have been frequently made. 
La Punta, a much smaller fort, is of the same 
period. The castle of Atares dates from 
about 1763, when the Conde de Ricla 



DESCRIPTIVE. 65 

was Governor of the island. Cabana, which 
alone has accommodation for 4000 men, fronts 
the bay for a distance of 800 yards, and is de- 
fended on the land side by three bastions. 
To the east there lies a smaller fort, No. 4, 
or San Diego, on a hill about 100 feet high. 
The relative importance of these fortifi- 
cations is apparent from the rank of the 
commanding officer of each, as given in the 
Spanish Army List for 1895: 

Castillo del Principe, commanded by a Brigadier 
General. 

Castillo de la Cabana, commanded by a Brigadier 
General. 

Fuerte de San Diego, commanded by a First Lieu- 
tenant of Infantry. 

Castillo del Morro, commanded by a Major of Infantry. 

Castillo de la Punta, commanded by a Captain of 
Infantry. 

Castillo de Atares, commanded by a First Lieutenant 
of Infantry. 

Bateria de la Reina, commanded by a Captain of 
Artillery. 

Bateria de Santa Clara, commanded by a Captain of 
Artillery. 

Holguin, province of Santiago de Cuba, 
175 miles from the city of that name, popu- 
lation, 5418; of township, 32,056. 



66 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Jaruco, province of Habana, 34 miles from 
the capital, population, 2145; of township, 
12,584. 

Jibacoa, province of Habana, 12 miles from 
Jaruco, population, 696; of township, 3966. 

Jiguane, province of Santiago de Cuba, 18 
miles from Bayamo, population, 1393; of 
township, 8033. 

Jovellanos (popularly known as Bemba), 
province of Matanzas, 20 miles from Colon, 
population, 6000; of township, 9000. 

La Esperanza, province of Santa Clara, 
population, 2147; of township, 10,733. The 
township comprises 15 settlements, 92 
grazing farms, and 647 under cultivation. 

Lagunillas, province of Matanzas, 7 miles 
from Cardenas, population, 520; of town- 
ship, 7030. 

Limonar, province of Matanzas, popula- 
tion, 330; of township, 2000. 

Macagua, province of Matanzas, popula- 
tion, 4100; of township, 13,410. This town- 
ship is distinguished for its great sugar 
estates. 

Macuriges, province of Matanzas, popula- 
tion, 3650; of township, 13,500. 

Madruga, province of Habana; a bathing 



DESCRIPTIVE. 67 

resort (warm springs), 52 miles from the 
capital. 

Managua, province of Habana, 16 miles 
from Guanabacoa, population, 896; of town- 
ship, 5860. 

Mangas, province of Pinar del Rio, popu- 
lation, 209; of township, 3576. 

Mantua, province of Pinar del Rio, popu- 
lation, 1380; of township, 8000. 

Manzanillo, province of Santiago de Cuba, 
160 miles from that city, population, 9036; of 
township, 25,735. The town is situated on a 
fine bay; the township produces annually 
more than 30,000 tons of sugar, besides the 
products of the forests. 

Marianao, 6 miles from Habana, popula- 
tion, 1225; of township, 7352. 

Mariel, province of Pinar del Rio, 8 miles 
from Guanajay, population, 1637; of town- 
ship, 9207. The town has a fine harbor. 

Matanzas, capital of the rich province of 
the same name, and the second commercial 
city of the island. It is distant from Habana 
74 miles by rail, or 54 by wagon road. Popu- 
lation 50,000. Matanzas is situated on a 
magnificent bay, where the rivers San Juan 
and Yumuri enter, dividing, it into three 



68 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

parts. The part between the rivers is the 
oldest; the northern section is called Ver- 
salles, and the southern Pueblo Nuevo 
(new town). The buildings that chiefly 
attract attention are the Estaban theater — 
one of the finest in America — the Casino and 
the Lyceum. Among the principal resorts are 
La Plaza de Armas, Eremita de Monserrat, 
the boulevard de Santa Cristina, and the 
beautiful park in the valley of the Yumuri. 
That tropical valley is one of surpassing 
natural beauty. 

Three and a half miles out of the city are 
the beautiful caves of Bellamar, opening 
upon the bay. This is a great resort for sea 
bathing, and the beaches are inclosed by 
iron gratings to exclude the sharks that in- 
fest Cuban waters. The natural beauty of 
the crystallizations in these caves has been 
greatly impaired by guides carrying smoky 
torches. The fine hotel at the entrance has 
recently been burned by the insurrectionists. 

Melena del Sur, province of Habana, 
distant 8 miles from Guines, population, 
1082; of township, 5275. 

Moron, province of Puerto Principe, 85 



DESCRIPTIVE. 69 

miles from the city of that name, popula- 
tion, 3017; of the township, 7870. Its ex- 
ports are tobacco, sugar, cedar, mahogany, 
and ebony. 

Nueva Paz, province of Habana, popula- 
tion, 2737; of township, 9571. 

Palmillas, province of Matanzas, popula- 
tion, 1 471; of township, 8818. 

Palmira, province of Santa Clara, 9 miles 
from Cienfuegos, population, 2987; of town- 
ship, 4995. 

Pinar del Rio, capital of the province of 
that name, 155 miles southwest from 
Habana. It is the center of the famous 
tobacco district, is connected by a turnpike 
with its seaport, Coloma, and has a popula- 
tion of 5500. 

Puerto Principe, capital of the province of 
that name, near the center of which it is 
located. Its seaport is Nuevitas, which was 
called Puerto Principe by Columbus. Its 
present site was selected in 15 16, where the 
Indian village of Camagiiey then was. The 
usual communication with Habana is by 
railway to Nuevitas, and thence by steamer. 
Population, 40,679; of township, 55,459. 



70 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Quemados de Giiines, province of Santa 
Clara, 12 miles from Sagua la Grande, popu- 
lation, 2000; of township, 14,000. 

Quivican, province of Habana, center of a 
cattle district, close to Bejucal, population, 
of town, 1950; of township, 5600. 

Rancho Veloz, province of Santa Clara 
25 miles from Sagua la Grande, population, 
656; of township, 8237. 

Ranchuela, province of Santa Clara, 28 
miles from Cienfuegos, population, 1533; of 
township, 10,733. 

Regla, a suburb of Habana, reached by- 
ferry; population, 10,486. It has a famous 
bull-ring. 

Roque, province of Matanzas, population, 
800; of township, 6750. Produces sugar, 
coffee, and bananas. 

Sabanilla del Encomendador, province of 
Matanzas, population, 2991 ; of township, 
8871. 

Sagua la Grande, province of Santa Clara, 
260 miles from Habana, population, 14,000; 
of township, 23,740. It is one of the most 
important cities on the island, and is con- 
nected by railway with Habana, Santa Clara, 
and Cienfuegos. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 7 1 

Sagua de Tanamo, province of Santiago de 
Cuba, 125 miles from that city, population, 
981; of township, 6044. 

Salud, province of Habana, 5 miles from 
Bejucal, population, 800; of township, 4970. 

San Antonio de Cabezas, province 
of Matanzas, population, 1500; of town- 
ship, 10,200. 

San Antonio de las Vegas, province of 
Habana, 13 miles from Bejucal, population, 
1 136; of township, 4600. 

San Antonio de los Bafios, province of 
Habana, 21 miles from the capital, popula- 
tion, 7500; of township, 11,730. The city 
takes its name from the mineral springs that 
empty into the river that drains the wonder- 
ful lake Ariguanabo, already mentioned 
under the head of " Water Courses." 

San Antonio de Rio Blanco del Norte, 
province of Habana, population, 1200; of 
township, 5800. 

San Cristobal, province of Pinar del Rio, 
70 miles from Habana, population, 3522; of 
township, 17,610. 

San Diego del Valle, province of Santa 
Clara, population, 1403; of township, 
9820. 



72 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

San Felipe, province of Habana, popula- 
tion, 231 1 ; of township, 9244. 

San Fernando de Nuevitas, province of 
Puerto Principe, is the port for the capital of 
that province; population, 6,991. 

San Jose de las Lajas, province of Habana, 
18 miles from the capital, population 2170; of 
township, 7000. 

San Jose de los Ramos, province of 
Matanzas, 12 miles from Colon, population, 
570; of township, 9500. 

San Juan de los Remedios, province of 
Santa Clara, 4 miles from Caibarien and 295 
from Habana, population, 7230; of township, 
15,550. The town was founded in 1545, on 
an islet or " key," and afterward removed. 
Its port is Caibarien. 

San Juan de las Yevas, province of, and 14 
miles from, Santa Clara; population, 2267; 
of township, 7808. 

San Juan y Martinez, province, of Pinar del 
Rio, population, 2100; of township, 19,000. 

San Julian de los Guines (or, simply, 
Guines), province of Habana; distant from the 
capital 30 miles by wagon road and 45 by rail. 
This city is the center of a rich sugar district; 
population, 6828; of township, 12,401. The 



DESCRIPTIVE. 73 

Catalina river traverses the town and is 
crossed by ten bridges. 

San Luis, province of Pinar del Rio, distant 
from that city 10 miles; population, 3556; of 
township, 9125. 

San Matias de Rio Blanco, a village of 400 
inhabitants, near San Antonio de Rio Blanco 
del Norte; its port is frequented by coasting 
vessels. 

San Miguel, a bathing village 11 miles 
from Limonar in the province of Matanzas. 

San Nicolas, province of Habana, 9 miles 
from Gtiines, population, 11 00; of township, 
6680. 

Santa Ana, province of Matanzas, 7 miles 
from that city, population, 601; o( town- 
ship, 8239. 

Santa Clara, capital of the province of that 
name. Its popular designation is Villa Clara. 
It is 248 miles from Habana, and has a popu- 
lation of 34,635. The city has a fine theater. 
There is considerable mineral wealth in its 
vicinity. Gold, plumbago, and copper have 
been found; there is a gasoline mine a mile and 
a quarter from the city, and as much as 10,000 
tons of superior asphaltum has been shipped 
in a single year. 



74 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Santa Cruz del Sur, province of Puerto 
Principe, population, iooo; of township, 
4016. The chief products are cedar, mahog- 
any, honey, wax, cattle, and turtles' eggs. 

Santa Isabel de las Lajas, province of Santa 
Clara, 31 miles from Cienfuegos, population, 
4924; of township, 9104. It has a large and 
increasing commerce, in which the leading 
articles are sugar and cattle. 

Santa Maria del Rosario, province of 
Habana, 3^ miles from the capital, popula- 
tion, 660; of township, 4854. Noted for its 
mineral springs. 

Santiago de Cuba (often called merely 
Cuba), capital of the province of the same 
name, founded in 15 14 by Diego Velasquez, 
on the southeast coast, and was for a long 
time the capital of the island. It is situated 
on a fine harbor, whose narrow entrance is 
defended by two forts. It has some notable 
buildings; especially the cathedral, built in 
1522. Owing to its inclosed situation, the 
atmosphere is close and stifling, and the place 
is not healthy. It is the second commercial 
port in the island; its principal exports are 
liquors, hides, cocoa, coffee, tobacco, guavas, 
and pineapples. 



DESCRIPTIVE. IS 

Santiago de las Vegas, n miles from 
Habana, population 6000; of township, 
11,000. 

Santo Domingo, province of Santa Clara, 
population, 1750; of township, 17,000; the 
principal business is farming and grazing. 

Santo Espiritu (also known as Sancti 
Spiritus), province of Santa Clara, distant 55 
miles from the city of that name; population, 
17,540; of township, 500. 

Tapaste, province of Habana, situated on 
the great central wagon-road of the island, 
and the center of considerable trade; popu- 
lation, 1 1 30; of the township, 6125. 

Vereda Nueva, province of Santa Clara, 
population, 672; of township, 4000. 

Vinales, province of Pinar del Rio, from 
that city distant 16 miles, population, 925; 
of township, 11,727. Near the town are the 
celebrated San Vicente mineral springs. 



PART II 

HISTORICAL. 
By M. M. Ramsey, A. M. 

CHAPTER I. 

In tracing the course of maritime enter- 
prise, the discoveries of the Phoenicians and 
the Northmen may be passed over, as pre- 
mature and productive of no valuable re- 
sults. In that development of exploration 
which has continued to the present time, the 
Portuguese were the pioneers. 

The chief object from the days of Hiram 
and Solomon to the sixteenth century was al- 
ways a route to India and the fabulous wealth 
of the East. In the thirteenth century the 
Polos penetrated eastward far beyond the 
turning points of all previous explorers, re- 
mained many years at the court of the great 
Kublai Khan, reached Peking, and heard of 



7 8 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

an empire, Zipangri — now recognized as 
Japan — still farther east. Upon their re- 
turn, and the publication of Marco Polo's 
narrative, the thinking part of Europe was 
roused and given a new subject of thought to 
take the place of the seven lost crusades. 
About the same time the compass began to 
be known and used by Europeans, and made 
mariners less dependent on the shore and 
the stars. Another impulse Avas given by the 
fact that about 1334 a French ship, driven 
from her course, accidentally discovered the 
Canary Islands, which had been heard of but 
not seen by the Romans. 

It was the fortune of Portugal to have, at 
the beginning of the fifteenth century, an 
able, enterprising sovereign and a consider- 
able number of brave and energetic soldiers, 
well seasoned in expelling the Moors, in do- 
mestic factional wars, and in resisting the pre- 
tensions of Spain. These were now in danger 
of being out of employment; and in default 
of new quarrels, the king turned their ener- 
gies to exploring the unknown Atlantic sea- 
board of Africa. Beginning in 141 8, they 
successively doubled Cape Non, discovered 
Madeira, passed Cape Bojador, occupied the 



HISTORICAL. 79 

Azores, and reached the Senegal and the 
Cape Verde Islands. Here they paused for 
a time to take fresh breath. In 1484 they 
pushed on to the Congo, turned their backs 
to the sun, and saw the Southern Cross rise 
in the heavens before them. In i486 
Bartholomew Diaz sighted the Cape of Good 
Hope; and eleven years later Vasco da Gama 
rounded that promontory and steered north- 
ward toward India. 

The Portuguese were as prudent as they 
were adventurous. They early foresaw the 
possibility of arriving at vast and rich 
countries inhabited by people who were not 
Christians, and who, in consequence, could 
have no rights even in the land of their birth. 
It was easy to deal with them, but not so 
easy to keep other Christian nations from 
trespassing on the newly discovered regions. 
Yet it was deemed necessary to have the sole 
and absolute ownership of all pagan lands 
reached, regardless of their present occu- 
pants, and a bull was therefore obtained from 
Pope Eugenius IV., granting to Portugal 
the desired right to all countries discovered 
or to be discovered, from Cape Non to 
India. The inducement professedly held out 



8o THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

to His Holiness was the great glory that 
would inure to Christ and his Church from 
the conversion of these various peoples. 
There may be differences of opinion how far 
either party was candid and frank as to his 
motives; but we can scarcely doubt that the 
Sovereign Pontiff felt flattered by be- 
ing thus publicly appealed to as " the dis- 
poser of all the crowns of the universe," and 
that the King of Portugal was more than 
flattered by the sudden acquisition of regions 
so vast that his native kingdom was but a 
speck in comparison. It is true that here and 
there, in the cooler parts of Europe, men were 
beginning to appear who might be disposed 
to question the Pope's right to bestow upon 
whomsoever he would kingdoms and conti- 
nents of which he did not know the names or 
the existence: but such captious persons were 
few, and supposed to be unimportant; and 
these geographical exercises of the Holy See 
continued for a century or two to play an im- 
portant part in European politics. 

While the Portuguese were thus groping 
their way along the shore eastward toward 
India, as a blind man guides his steps by the 
aid of a wall, Columbus conceived the idea of 



HISTORICAL. Si 

sailing out westward on the wide waste of 
waters, and thus, as it were, going forth to 
meet the advance guards of the Mikado and 
the Great Khan. It would be out of place 
here to attempt any account of the labors, 
the disappointments and achievements of 
Columbus. The moderate space of a few 
pages would only suffice to tell less than 
everyone knows already; and to give any 
adequate account would be to convert the 
present work into a biography of the dis- 
coverer instead of a description of one of the 
places discovered. Suffice it to say that on 
Friday, the 3d day of August, 1492, Colum- 
bus set sail from Palos with 90 men on board 
of three little crazy barks, two of which were 
no better than modern fishing smacks, and 
that he saw the first land of the western hem- 
isphere on the 1 2th of October. The land 
thus seen was one of the Bahama islands, then 
called by the natives Guanahani, christened 
by Columbus as San Salvador, and now 
known to seafaring men as Cat Island. 

It was during this first voyage that 
Columbus discovered Cuba, which he de- 
clared to be " the goodliest land that eye 
ever saw." From its great extent he be- 



82 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

lieved it to be the extremity of the continent 
of Asia; and he lived and died in that belief. 
During his second voyage he made a serious 
attempt to test the truth of his conjecture. 
After rounding Cape Maisi he traced the 
south coast until he had passed the Isle of 
Pines and was almost within sight of Cape 
San Antonio, when, seeing no prospect of 
a termination, he took an oath of every man 
and boy in the fleet of their belief as to where 
they were. They all signed a statement that 
they believed themselves on the coast of 
Asia. This curious document was in exist- 
ence in the time of Washington Irving, and 
it is not likely that it has been destroyed 
since. 

This was one of the least of the many 
delusions — then common to all the world 
— under which the Spaniards discovered, 
colonized, and held their American posses- 
sions. A far more serious error, though of 
a different nature, was their eagerness for 
certain commodities that contribute to the 
ostentation and self-indulgence of the rich 
and the idle rather than to the comfort and 
sustenance of mankind in general. The chief 
of these — far excelling all other terrestrial 



HISTORICAL. 83 

products in importance — was gold; then fol- 
lowed silver, precious stones, pearls, spices, 
and perfumes. Perhaps there were few in 
that age capable of understanding that if 
gold and iron were equally abundant and 
easily obtained, the gold would be much the 
less valuable of the two ; or that a few pairs of 
domestic animals and a handful of seeds 
would be a more precious gift to a new conti- 
nent than turning all its rocks into gold, and 
its bowlders and cobblestones into rubies and 
diamonds. The explorers, like little children 
at a fair, were attracted by the merest trifles. 
They scrutinized more carefully the oyster 
shells thrown up by the waves, suggesting a 
possibility of pearls, than the richness of the 
soil and the exuberance of the tropical forests. 
Wherever they landed, as soon as they could 
make themselves understood, they inquired 
for gold. The answers received in Cuba 
were not encouraging, and seemed to point 
to another large island that has variously 
borne the names of Hayti (or Haiti), His- 
paniola, and Santo Domingo. This island 
and its inhabitants presented prospects so 
inviting that it became the seat of the first 
Spanish settlement in the New World. 



84 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Of the aborigines of Haiti, who did not 

differ from those of Cuba, Columbus thus 

wrote to their Catholic Majesties: 

The king having been informed of our misfortune 
expressed great grief for our loss, and immediately sent 
aboard all the people in the place in many large canoes ; 
we soon unloaded the ship of everything that was upon 
deck, as the king gave us great assistance ; he, himself, 
with his brothers and relations, took all possible care that 
everything should be properly done, both aboard and on 
shore. And, from time to time, he sent some of his rela- 
tions weeping, to beg of me not to be dejected, for he 
would give me all that he had. I can assure Your High- 
nesses, that so much care would not have been taken in 
securing our effects in any part of Spain, as all our 
property was put together in one place near his palace, 
until the houses which he wanted to prepare for the 
custody of it were emptied. He immediately placed a 
guard of armed men, who watched during the whole 
night, and those on shore lamented as if they had been 
much interested in our loss. The people are so affec- 
tionate, so tractable, and so peaceable that I swear to 
Your Highnesses that there is not a better race of men,. 
nor a better country in the world. They love their neigh- 
bor as themselves; their conversation is the sweetest and 
mildest in the world, cheerful and always accompanied 
with a smile. And although it is true that they go naked, 
yet Your Highnesses may be assured that they have 
many very commendable customs; the king is served 
with great state, and his behavior is so decent that it is 
pleasant to see him, as it is likewise the wonderful 
memory which these people have, and their desire of 



HISTORICAL. 85 

knowing everything, which leads them to inquire into its 
causes and effects. * 

As there was danger that the Spanish 
discoveries might come in conflict with those 
of the Portuguese, Pope Alexander VI., him- 
self of Spanish birth, not only confirmed the 
right of the Spanish crown to the newly dis- 
covered countries, but designated a line to 
be drawn due north and south, 100 
leagues west of the Azores, from one ex- 
tremity of the world to the other. All pagan 
lands east of this line were confirmed to 
Portugal; all to the westward were to be the 
exclusive property of Spain. No other 
country could have any share; and a hostile 
meeting of the two waves of occupancy at the 
antipodes seems not to have been anticipated. 

The Spaniards made their first settlement 
on the island of Haiti, or Hispaniola. But 
in eighteen years it was thought to be pretty 
nearly exhausted. The native population, 
variously estimated at from one to three 
million, was reduced to some 50,000 by the 
hardships of slavery for which they were 

*"Life of Christopher Columbus," by his son Don Fer- 
dinand ; chap, xxxii ; vol. ii. of " Churchill's Collection oi 
Voyages," 3d. ed,, London, 1744. 



86 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

physically and mentally unfit. Hence in 151 1 
Don Diego Columbus, son of the great dis- 
coverer, determined to take possession of 
Cuba. He selected for the enterprise Diego 
Velasquez, one of his father's companions, 
whom he sent with a small body of 300 men. 
They landed at Baracoa without any effect- 
ive resistance from the feeble and guileless 
Indians. One native chief named Hatuey, a 
refugee from Hispaniola, who knew what 
Spaniards were, attempted opposition; but 
his followers were soon broken and dis- 
persed, and he himself taken prisoner. In- 
stead of being treated as an honorable cap- 
tive, he was condemned to be burned alive as 
a fugitive slave. Then was enacted one of the 
most horrid of mockeries. When the chief 
was tied to the stake, and the fagots were 
piled around him, a Franciscan friar stood by 
the pile and urged him to abjure the feeble 
gods of his ancestors and accept Christianity, 
in order that the same flames which con- 
sumed his body might waft his soul to the 
regions of eternal bliss. Aware that his con- 
version would not prevent his cremation, 
he inquired if there were any Spaniards in 
those happy abodes, and, on being answered 



HISTORICAL. 87 

in the affirmative, " I will not go," he said, 
" to a place where I may meet one of that 
accursed race."* So great was the terror in- 
spired in the natives that there was no further 
resistance, and Velasquez, without the loss of 
a man, took possession of a country nearly 
as large as Pennsylvania. This was the first 
pressure of the mailed hand that has now 
been laid for nearly four centuries upon the 
beautiful island. 

The first permanent settlement was at 
Santiago de Cuba, a circumstance which gave 
priority of rank to the bishop of that diocese, 
and eventually led to his elevation to the rank 
of archbishop. Within a year or two a foot- 
ing was also gained at Trinidad and near the 
present city of Habana. Thus secured, Cuba 
was not considered as of much importance 
in itself, but as an intermediate station for 
prosecuting enterprises against the mainland. 
From that time until near the close of the 
eighteenth century she scarcely had a separate 
history, and was affected by current events 
only in the same manner as the other Antilles 
and the adjacent continent. 

* Fr. Bartolome de las . Casas, ' ' Brevisima relation de la 
destruction de las Indias." 



CHAPTER II. 

The general objects of planting colonies 
have been twofold: to open a safety valve for 
the outlet of redundant or discontented 
population; and to provide closed markets in 
which the mother country, and no one else, 
might buy cheap and sell dear, and to and 
from which she should hold a monopoly of 
the carrying trade. 

In this respect Spain was not peculiar. It 
was the generally understood policy of all 
nations; and Spain's misfortune has been her 
small capacity to learn or forget. She re- 
tains the ideas of the distant past, and cannot 
or will not acquire those of the progressive 
present. England was once almost as ex- 
clusive; but has learned better. The cele- 
brated Navigation Act (12th Charles II., 
chap, xviii.) was to the effect above stated; 
and by a later Act (15th Charles II., chap.vii.) 
Scotland and Ireland were excluded from the 
benefits of the colonial trade. No European 



HISTORICAL. 89 

products were to be admitted into the 
British colonial plantations except in Eng- 
lish-built vessels, manned by Englishmen and 
loaded in the ports of England or Wales, or 
the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Perhaps 
England never pretended to restrict the navi- 
gation of the high seas ; but Spain, by the line 
of Pope Alexander, owned the greater part of 
the Atlantic, and stories are told of atrocities 
committed upon navigators — especially Eng- 
lish — caught near its western confines. 

When more liberal views were beginning 
to prevail in other parts of the world, and 
Cromwell proposed that Spain should abol- 
ish the Inquisition and admit the free navi- 
gation of the western seas, the Spanish 
ambassador told him that for his master to 
relinquish those prerogatives would be to 
give up his two eyes.* 

This policy was illustrated by an incident 
which took place on the coast of Florida. A 
party of French Huguenots settled near the 
mouth of the river St. John in 1564. Shortly 
after that Aviles de Menendez, sailing under 
orders to " gibbet and behead all Protestants 

* Bryan Edwards, "History of the West Indies," vol. i. 
p. 191. 



90 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

in those regions," surprised and massacred 
those found in the settlement. A party of 
the French, who were absent at the time, 
afterward fell into the hands of Aviles, who 
hanged them all and set up a superscription: 
" Not as Frenchmen, but as heretics." Ret- 
ribution, however, fell on the Spaniards, who 
undertook in the following year to found St. 
Augustine; for in 1567 a French expedition- 
ary force surprised the settlers, and hanged 
them, " Not as Spaniards, but as mur- 
derers." * 

Still intrusions continued, though many 
intruders were put to death by the Spaniards 
and many were sent to labor for life in the 
Mexican mines. In 1650 the Spanish forces 
attacked the Dutch and English settlements 
on the island of Santa Cruz and massacred 
every man, woman, and child; and such acts 
were continued at intervals far into the 
eighteenth century. 

It was as late as 1738 or 1739 that the inci- 
dent occurred which gave rise to what Mr. 
Carlyle has called " The War of Jenkins' 
Ear." While the English persisted in main- 
taining a trade in contravention of the Span- 

* " Encyclopaedia Britannica," ix. 340, 



HISTORICAL. 9 1 

ish restrictions, Captain Jenkins, command- 
ing an English trading ship in the waters of 
the Spanish Main, was seized by a Spanish 
cruiser. His vessel was searched and he him- 
self, as he testified, subjected to torture. The 
Spanish were so irritated at finding little to 
convict him of even a technical offense, that, 
in foolish bravado, they cut off one of his ears 
and told him to take that home and show it 
to his king. The captain placed his ear in a 
bottle of spirits; and in due time he and it 
were presented in the course of a debate in 
the House of Commons.* We are of the 
same blood, and can imagine the sensation 
produced. The result was that Walpole, de- 
spite his generally pacific inclination, was 
compelled by public sentiment to declare war. 
It was indeed impossible for Spain to 
maintain her monopoly of the Western hemi- 
sphere as against the rest of Europe. Her 
pretensions were disregarded or resisted, 
especially by the Portuguese, the French, the 
English, and the Dutch. In the ever-recur- 
ring conflicts from the sixteenth century to 
the nineteenth there were many reprisals and 

* Bryan Edwards, "History of the West Indies," vol. i. 
p. 185. 



9 2 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

not a few acts of barbarity, in all of which 
Cuba was exposed to the common fate. 

In 1538 the young city of Habana was laid 
in ashes by a French privateer. To prevent 
the recurrence of such a disaster, the gov- 
ernor — the celebrated Fernando de Soto — 
erected the Castillo de la Fuerza to defend 
the entrance to the harbor. But the precau- 
tion was insufficient, for in 1554 the French 
again took and destroyed Habana. Two 
other fortresses were then added, the Punta 
and the Morro. In January, 1762, near the 
close of what is known as the Seven Years' 
War, hostilities were declared against Spain, 
and during the summer Lord Albemarle, 
with a fleet of 200 sail in all, and a land force 
of 14,041 men, attacked Habana. The 
defense, made by an army of 27,610, was most 
obstinate, and lasted two months. In a 
series of brilliant successes, the conquest of 
Canada and the capture of Habana — victor- 
ies within a few years over France and Spain 
— made a vivid impression on the popular 
mind of Britain. Burns has commemorated 
the two events in " The Jolly Beggars " by 
a few spirited lines in which the old soldier 
sings: 



HISTORICAL. 93 

My 'prenticeship I passed where my leader breathed his last, 
When the bloody die was cast on the heights of Abram; , 

I served out my trade when the gallant game was played, 
And the Morro low was laid at the sound of the drum. 

The British troops held Habana and the 
surrounding country from August, 1763, 
until the following year. During their occu- 
pation they instituted effective hygienic regu- 
lations in the city, and made the port free to 
the commerce of the world — a change so 
radical and far-reaching that the Spaniards, 
upon regaining possession, found it im- 
practicable to re-establish the former restrict- 
ive policy. 

By the treaty of Paris (February 10, 1763) 
a large part of the seven years' conquests 
were restored, among them Habana. Eng- 
land was largely the gainer, receiving from 
France all the territory claimed by that 
country east of the Mississippi, together with 
the islands of Prince Edward, Cape Breton, 
Dominica, St. Vincent, Tobago, and Minorca. 
Florida was ceded to England by Spain, 
which in turn received Louisiana from 
France. Martinique, Guadeloupe, Pondi- 
cherry, and Goree were restored to France. 

Those troubled centuries of rival European 



94 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

rule in the New World gave opportunity for 
the rise of a body of men — one might almost 
say an institution — known as the buccaneers. 
They were smugglers at first, gradually de- 
veloping into privateers, or even pirates, and 
were for the most part natives of France, 
England, and Holland — the rivals of Spain. 
They differed from full-grown pirates in that 
they did not prey upon mankind generally, 
but preferably, if not exclusively, upon 
Spaniards. Hence it was not generally to 
the interest of other powers to discourage 
them. After the heedless tyranny of the dis- 
coverers had destroyed the native population 
of Haiti, immense herds of wild cattle came 
to range over the uninhabited parts of the 
interior. The natives had learned a method 
of preserving the flesh of these animals by 
drying and smoking, and they used a word 
bucan to designate the kiln or structure for 
conducting the process. Europeans, ventur- 
ing into those seas, not only procured sup- 
plies of this food, but developed an illicit 
trade — as all trade was illicit — of carrying 
buccanned beef to other places; and both the 
preparers and the carriers acquired a name 
which is generally written " buccaneer " 
(Span, bucanero). 



HISTORICAL. 95 

As the seafaring buccaneers were liable to 
seizure everywhere by the Spaniards, they had 
to be prepared for defense, and so acquired a 
warlike character. They also found it to their 
interest to make common cause against a 
common enemy. Thus combined, they be- 
came not only formidable to Spain but an ally 
worth conciliating by her enemies; and with 
English and French assistance, they under- 
took, in 1625, to establish a permanent set- 
tlement in the island of St. Christopher (or 
St. Kitts). About five years later they set up 
a depot on one of the Bahamas. Besides be- 
ing independent rovers, they formed a mer- 
cenary navy, at the service of any power at 
war with Spain, and, receiving letters of 
marque and reprisal as privateers, became en- 
titled to the rights of belligerents. 

After the British conquest of Jamaica in 
1655, that island, which they had helped to 
gain, became the center of their power, 
whence they issued, no longer merely to in- 
tercept the dwindling commerce of Spain, 
and seize her returning treasure ships, but to 
plunder the cities of Cuba and of the main- 
land. 

These depredations continued long after 



9 6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the treaty of 1670, between England and 
Spain, proclaimed peace in the West Indian 
colonies. In 1671 Henry Morgan, a Welsh- 
man, and chief of the floating republic, set 
sail for a convenient port in the Caribbean 
with 39 ships and 2000 men, crossed the isth- 
mus, and plundered Panama. After his re- 
turn he became Sir Henry Morgan, by the 
grace of King Charles, and deputy governor 
of Jamaica. In 1680 John Coxon, with 300 
men, landed on the coast of Darien and 
plunged into the wilderness with only what 
they could carry on their backs. Their steps 
were directed by the Indians, whose hostil- 
ity to the Spaniards was as great as their 
own, and much more justifiable. On reach- 
ing one of the short rivers that empty 
into the South Sea, they descended it in a 
fleet of canoes and paralyzed resistance by 
their sudden and wild appearance and the 
terror of their name. They were able to sur- 
prise and seize four armed vessels, and then 
success flowed in upon them like the tide. 
Recruits crossed the isthmus and joined 
them; and they ravaged the islands and coast 
towns from California to Peru. By a su- 
preme effort, in 1685, a fleet of fourteen sail 



HISTORICAL. 97 

was gotten together and confronted the in- 
vaders in the Bay of Panama, but did not dare 
to attack. From that time, however, com- 
bined opposition from without, and vices and 
dissensions within, made their decline even 
more rapid than their rise, and now for nearly 
two centuries the buccaneers have been but a 
memory and a name. 

Up to the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury the people of Cuba, few in number, lived 
a retired rustic life. Their magnificent har- 
bors were closed against the commerce of the 
world and could be entered only by stealth or 
force. Spain was not in a condition to be 
a large purchaser for the special products of 
the island. The greater part of the annual 
product of the soil was consumed on the 
haciendas or farms on which it grew. Theirs 
was the undeveloped state in which the rudi- 
ments of every trade are to be found in every 
neighborhood, and on every large estate. 
Education, as now understood, was almost 
wholly wanting; and the little that was called 
for was chiefly possessed by ecclesiastics from 
the parent country. Gold and silver had not 
been discovered in remunerative quantities; 
and, as stated above, the most obvious use of 



9^ THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the island was as a midway station to facili- 
tate enterprises against the mainland. The 
principles of public wealth were not better or 
more universally understood at the close of 
the fifteenth than at the end of the nine- 
teenth century. Spain was willing to repeat 
the experience of Midas, turn everything 
she touched into a metal for coinage, 
and perish of hunger in the midst of 
imaginary affluence.* It was at the old 
capital of Santiago de Cuba that the expe- 
dition of Cortes was fitted out to subjugate 
the golden realms of Montezuma; and it was 
from Cuba that the romantic adventurer, 
Fernando de Soto, set out on his four years 
of weary wandering, to seek the fountain of 
eternal youth and find a grave beneath 
the waters of the Mississippi. 

*See Appendix A. 



CHAPTER III. 

From the restoration of Cuba to Spain by 
the peace of 1763 until the close of the cen- 
tury, there followed a period of unwonted 
prosperity, varying with the character of the 
successive governors. Of these Luis de las 
Casas, appointed in 1790, was one of the 
most able and progressive, as was shown by 
his success in restraining the negro popula- 
tion under the excitement attending the 
revolution in Santo Domingo, and by the 
new impulse which he imparted to 
the agriculture and commerce of the 
island. It was under his guidance that 
trade with the North American republic be- 
gan to assume importance, and to his efforts 
was due the transfer of the remains of Colum- 
bus from Santo Domingo to their present 
resting place in the cathedral at Habana. 

De las Casas was succeeded, in December, 
1796, by the Count of Santa Clara, who took 
an ardent interest in the welfare of Cuba, and 
99 



loo THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

notably in its military defenses. Most of the 
present fortifications on the island were 
originated by him, and the Bateria de Santa 
Clara, outside of Habana, was named in his 
honor. 

During the years from 1726 to 1796, a 
great navy yard grew up on the Bay of 
Habana, and 114 war vessels were built there 
to convoy the Spanish treasure ships. But 
they were closed, at the date last named, on 
the demand of the ship-builders of Spain that 
the work should be done in the mother 
country. This was one of the earliest causes 
of an ill feeling between the islanders and the 
inhabitants of the peninsula. 

It was toward the close of the eighteenth 
century that sugar became an important arti- 
cle of general commerce. But it was not 
even then an article of common consumption, 
and one of the earliest prices noted is equiva- 
lent to 43 cents a pound, at a time when the 
purchasing power of money was at least 
twice as great as it is now. The consump- 
tion of sugar in the United Kingdom is at 
present about 70 times as great as it was a 
century ago, and has been coincident with the 
increased use of tea and coffee. 



HISTORICAL. IOI 

When the Spanish Bourbons were deposed 
by Napoleon in 1808 every member of the 
provincial council of Cuba took an oath to 
preserve the island for their legitimate sov- 
reign, thus earning for their country the title 
of " The Ever-faithful Isle." This fidelity was 
followed, if not rewarded, by a line of cap- 
tains general continuing till the present 
time, varying in individual character, but all 
invested with the powers of Oriental despot- 
ism, or of the commander of a ship at sea. 
Their functions were defined by a royal decree 
of May 28, 1825, of which the following is a 
translation: 

His Majesty, the King, our Lord, desiring to obviate 
the inconveniences that might, in extraordinary cases, 
result from a division of command, and from the inter- 
ferences and prerogatives of the respective officers: for 
the important end of preserving in that precious island 
his legitimate sovereign authority and the public tran- 
quillity, through proper means, has resolved, in accord- 
ance with the opinion of his council of ministers, to give 
to your Excellency the fullest authority, bestowing upon 
you all the powers which by the royal ordinances are 
granted to the governors of besieged cities. In conse- 
quence of this His Majesty gives to your Excellency the 
most ample and unbounded power, not only to send away 
from the island any persons in office, whatever their 
occupation, rank, class, or condition, whose continuance 



102 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

therein your Excellency may deem injurious, or whose 
conduct, public or private, may alarm you, replacing 
them with persons faithful to His Majesty, and deserving 
of all the confidence of your Excellency ; but also to sus- 
pend the execution of any order whatsoever, or any 
general provision made concerning any branch of the 
administration as your Excellency may think most suit- 
able to the royal service. 

This decree is still substantially the su- 
preme law of Cuba. Its originating cause 
lay outside of the island. Revolutionary 
movements had begun in Spanish America in 
1 8 10, and after 14 years of guerrilla warfare 
European power had practically ceased from 
the Canadian lakes to Cape Horn. In 1821 
Santo Domingo declared its independence of 
Spain; and in the same year Florida came 
into the possession of the United States, 
many of its people crossing over to Cuba. 
These events could not fail to infuse into the 
islanders a leaven of unrest; and the severe 
repressive measures adopted have thus far 
yielded no happy results. While Canada, 
under a mild and all but nominal sovereignty, 
is as peaceful and loyal as Devonshire or Scot- 
land, Cuba, under martial law, is kept in a 
state of chronic insurrection. More exas- 
perating even than severe laws has been the 



HISTORICAL. 103 

practice, continued to the present time, of 
billeting upon the resources of the island, 
first, loyalist refugees from Spanish America, 
and, afterward, swarms of the retainers of 
Spanish politicians. 

Secret political societies of malcontents 
began to spring up in Cuba. The two ele- 
ments of the population — the advocates of a 
liberal constitution and the partisans of a 
rigid colonial control — were gathering in 
opposing factions. An attempt at open 
revolt was made so early as 1823 by the asso- 
ciation known as the " Soles de Bolivar," but 
it was frustrated before reaching maturity, 
and the leaders who did not escape from the 
island were arrested and punished. 

In 1826 Cuban refugees in Mexico and 
Colombia planned and even began to organ^ 
ize an invasion of Cuba to be led by the great 
liberator, Simon Bolivar; but their scheme 
came to nought for lack of adequate support. 
Later (1827—29) they organized a secret 
society denominated the " Black Eagle," for 
the purpose of forming a second invading ex- 
pedition. This society had its headquarters 
in Mexico, and established recruiting agen- 
cies and branch offices in the United States 



io4 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

and in many towns in Cuba, but the de- 
termined opposition of the slave-holding 
interests of both countries rendered this 
otherwise promising conspiracy abortive from 
the very outset; and the ringleaders were 
caught by the Spanish authorities. 

A much more serious matter was the insur- 
rection, or anticipated insurrection, in 1844, 
of the slaves on the sugar plantations about 
Matanzas. It was largely a matter of sus- 
picion; and the difficulty of obtaining suffi- 
cient evidence was so great that witnesses 
were examined under torture. By such 
means 1346 persons were convicted, of whom 
78 were shot and the others subjected to 
various degrees of minor punishment. Of 
those adjudged guilty 14 were white, 1242 
free colored persons, and 59 slaves. 

A few years later Narciso Lopez, a native 
of Venezuela who had served in the Spanish 
army and had risen to the rank of major 
general, started a revolutionary movement in 
the center of the island. Being unsuccessful, 
he made his escape, together with a number 
of Cubans, to this country and established in 
New York a center for that sympathy which 
has been so often and so strongly aroused in 



HISTORICAL. 105 

behalf of Cuba. In 1848 President Polk 
made overtures to the Spanish Government 
with a view to purchasing the island for 
$100,000,000. About that time the people 
of the slave States were filled with apprehen- 
sions in view of the growing population, 
wealth, congressional representation, and 
anti-slavery feeling of the North and West; 
and there was a strong sentiment in favor of 
annexing Cuba and dividing it into as many- 
slave States as possible; the chief if not the 
sole, inducement being additional votes in 
Congress. The warm-blooded youth of the 
South were filled with filibustering dreams, as 
the chivalry of the Middle Ages had been 
roused by the preaching of successive 
crusades. 

In 1849 Lopez made an attempt to return 
to Cuba with a small party, but was inter- 
cepted by the authorities of the United 
States. The following year, however, he or- 
ganized outside of our jurisdiction and suc- 
ceeded in reaching the island with a force of 
600 men. He effected a landing at Cardenas, 
but was immediately compelled to re-embark, 
and was chased by a Spanish ship of war to 
Key West, where his party was disbanded. 



io6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Encouraged by some revolutionary manifes- 
tations in Cuba, Lopez hastened from New 
Orleans in 1851, with 450 men on board the 
steamer Pampero. He landed at Pla- 
yitas, 30 miles from Habana, but was speedily 
confronted by a force greatly superior to his 
own in numbers, equipment, and training. 
Crittenden of Kentucky, second in command, 
was left with 130 men to bring up the sup- 
plies, while Lopez, with the main body, pushed 
forward into the interior. Thus separated, 
both were surrounded. Crittenden's party, 
when reduced to 50 men, were captured and 
shot. The sufferings of Lopez and his men 
were severe and prolonged. When no 
longer able to fight, they wandered in the 
dense woods without food, shoes, or shelter, 
until the last were captured. Lopez was ex- 
ecuted, but the remnant of his band were 
released. 

In the spring of 1850 occurred one of the 
earliest of those incidents which have done 
so much to produce public irritation in this 
country. It was the case of the Black War- 
rior, a steamer owned in New York, and ply- 
ing regularly between that city and Mobile, 
and making the round trip, as nearly as might 



' HISTORICAL. 107 

be, within the calendar month. She was the 
largest steamer in the coasting trade, had 
accommodations for 200 cabin passengers, 
and, when arrested, had on board 960 bales of 
cotton. In going and returning she touched 
at Habana to deliver and receive mail and 
passengers, but not to discharge or take on 
board any freight. In strict accordance 
with the customs laws, which were very- 
stringent, she should have exhibited each 
time a manifest of her cargo. But that 
could answer no useful purpose, as none of it 
was to be moved. So she was entered and 
cleared as " in ballast," to save time and 
trouble; having been so entered and cleared 
36 times in succession, with the full knowl- 
edge and consent of the revenue officers, and 
of all who cared to know, and in accordance 
with a written general order of the Cuban 
authorities, dated April 27, 1847. On the 
28th of February, 1850, the steamer was 
stopped in the harbor of Habana for having 
an undeclared cargo on board, and was not 
permitted to leave the port. The cargo was 
confiscated and taken on shore, and a fine of 
twice its value declared against the captain 
and vessel. Captain Bullock refused to pay 



108 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

any fine and protested against the whole pro- 
ceeding as violent, wrongful, and in bad 
■faith. The officials had sought to induce 
him to lend color to their acts by opening the 
hatches and getting the hoisting tackle in 
place, but he had steadily refused; and when 
they performed these acts themselves, he de- 
clared it a forcible seizure, hauled down his 
colors, and, taking them with him, left the 
vessel as a Spanish capture. He and his crew 
and passengers made their way to the United 
States as best they could. The owners of 
the steamer then preferred a claim for 
$300,000 indemnity, which was paid after a 
delay of five years. 

The case of the Black Warrior was one of 
the incidents that led to the celebrated 
Ostend Conference. 

In 1852 the governments of Great Britain 
and France submitted to that of the United 
States a draft of a tripartite convention, by 
which each should be bound not to acquire 
Cuba or suffer any other power to do so. 
The proposal was, after consideration, de- 
clined, on the triple ground of (a) avoiding 
" entangling alliances," (b) that it would be 
unwise, if not unconstitutional, to tie our 



HISTORICAL. 109 

hands for the future, regardless of contingen- 
cies, and (c) that, on geographical grounds, 
while England and France were making very 
slight concessions, we were asked to make a 
very important one. 

In 1854 preparations were made in Cuba 
and in the United States for another attempt 
at revolution, to be conducted by General 
Quitman of Mississippi; but in the following 
spring the leaders were betrayed and exe- 
cuted, and the enterprise came to nothing. 

The Ostend Manifesto (1854) signed by 
Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Mason, and Mr. Soule, 
strongly recommended the purchase of Cuba 
for $120,000,000, and that in no event 
should it be allowed to come under the power 
of any other European government than the 
one by which it was then held. 

The next 14 years was a period of compara- 
tive quiet and prosperity. During that time, 
in 1858, the subject of the acquisition of Cuba 
was discussed in the Senate of the United 
States, but no action was taken. 

A revolution broke out in Spain in 1868, 
and on September 30 Queen Isabella left 
the country, never to return. On the 8th of 
October a provisional ministry was formed; 



HO THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

and two days later a declaration of Cuban in- 
dependence was issued at Manzanillo. This 
was the first step in what has thus far been 
the most protracted and successful attempt at 
revolution in the island. High hopes were 
entertained of effective aid from the United 
States; but public attention in this country- 
was then absorbed by the problems of recon- 
struction, and the expectations were dis- 
appointed. 



CHAPTER IV. 

It seems necessary here to pause and seek 
for some permanent and effective cause for 
these repeated risings. Any charges of wan- 
ton cruelty on the part of Spain, or allega- 
tions that the rebels are only a negro rabble, 
are alike unfounded. Spain, like the other 
countries around the Mediterranean, is old, 
exhausted, and poor. In her running account 
of centuries she has reached a point where the 
balance against her is a debt out of all pro- 
portion to her resources — a debt that can 
never be paid. To pay the interest necessi- 
tates the most grinding oppression. The 
moving impulse is not malice, but the 
greed of the famishing; and oppressor and 
oppressed are alike objects for sympathy. 
Spain, although poor, has a voice in her own 
affairs; Cuba is naturally the richest spot in 
the child-king's dominions, and cannot pro- 
tect itself. When more revenue is raised 
than is expended in the island, the excess, 



H2 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

under the euphonious name of sobrante, or 
surplus, goes into the royal exchequer; and 
it is indispensable that there should be a 
pretty good sobrante. 

The annual revenue raised in the island in 
1868 approximated $26,000,000, and prep- 
arations were in progress for largely increas- 
ing the exactions. Indeed the causes of 
these repeated rebellions have been largely 
financial. Captain General Dulce, in writ- 
ing to the minister for the colonies in 1867, 
said: 

The cause of trouble and of the inquietude which ap- 
pears in the island of Cuba should be sought for to a great 
extent in the tariff laws, which, under pretext of protec- 
tion, make impossible a commerce carried on in good 
faith. . . The customhouse system is very expensive, 
overloaded with formalities which do not prevent fraud, 
but which embarrass and annoy honest trade. The 
ordinance of matrictilas, instead of protecting industry 
upon the seas, has well-nigh destroyed it. 

One of the Cuban deputies to the Cortes 
said, in a speech delivered in 1866: 

I foresee a catastrophe near at hand, in case Spain 
persists in remaining deaf to the just reclamations of the 
Cubans. Look at the old colonies of the American Con- 
tinent. All have ended in conquering their independence. 



HISTORICAL. 113 

Let Spain not forget the lesson: let the Government be 
just to the colonies that remain. Thus she will con- 
solidate her dominion over people who only aspire to be 
good sons of a worthy mother, but who are not willing 
to live as slaves under the scepter of a tyrant. 

The large revenue raised was not employed 
judiciously or economically. The captain 
general received an annual salary of 
$50,000 at a time when the President of the 
United States was getting half that amount. 
The governor of each province had $12,000, 
while the prime minister of Spain had to be 
content with $6000. The salaries of the 
archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and the 
bishop of Habana were each $18,000. Inci- 
dent to all offices, civil and ecclesiastical, from 
the highest to the lowest, were what Ameri- 
cans call " perquisites," and sometimes by a 
term still broader, which might amount to as 
much as the nominal salary. The manner of 
obtaining these was infinitely varied, but a 
single instance, applicable to the tax on 
incomes, will give a general idea of their 
nature. A planter makes up and hands in 
his return, putting his income for the year at 
$10,000. The collector expresses great dis- 
satisfaction, insisting that it ought to be 



114 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

$15,000. After a due amount of argument 
the planter proposes to split the difference. 
Then the collector, with effusive politeness 
and many assurances of his anxiety to be 
obliging, consents to the compromise. The 
tax on the difference — the $2500 — is paid on 
the spot and goes into the collector's pocket, 
and the original $10,000 remains on the 
tax-book. This wholesale corruption was 
universal and universally known. The pecu- 
lation in the customhouse at Habana was 
estimated at 40 per cent, and at Santiago de 
Cuba 70 per cent, of the entire receipts. 

There was yet another grievance, if it were 
not merely another aspect of the same. All 
offices in Church and state, except the lowest 
in remote districts, were filled by persons 
sent from Spain. The Spanish statesman, in 
addition to providing places for his own 
family, discharged his political obligations by 
obtaining for his friends and adherents situa- 
tions as rich as he was able to command. 
The official went to the island as a foreign 
master, with little sympathy for its people, to 
whom he was in no way amenable. He came 
to fill an empty purse, to return some day 
and excite the envy of Spanish grandees by 



HISTORICAL. 115 

the splendor of his equipage, and aid the 
popular delusion that the impoverished isle 
was an inexhaustible mine of wealth. 

The marked partiality thus shown for per- 
sons of European birth produced a jealous 
and bitter feeling between the insulares and 
the peninsular es, as the two parties were 
called, and, as a rule, in the revolts of the past 
fifty years a distinct line has been drawn be- 
tween these islanders and the continentals. 
Out of this distinction grew the military and 
political organization of the latter known as 
the Cuban Volunteers (Institute de los Vo- 
luntaries de Cuba), which has been an impor- 
tant factor in the affairs of the island. Bodies 
of volunteers had indeed appeared at various 
times from an early period in the history of 
Cuba, and they gained especial distinction 
during the British attack in 1762; but the 
present corps dates its legal existence and 
formal organization from the royal decree of 
July 7, 1872, at which time it numbered 
80,000 men. They are analogous to the 
National Guard of the United States; are 
without pay, except when called into active 
service; provide their own clothing; but are 
furnished with arms, ammunition, and armor- 



Ii6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ies at the public expense. Their chief duties 
are to guard towns and public property and 
suppress disorders, but, though seldom called 
upon for actual fighting, they are liable to be 
summoned by their commander, the captain 
general, to serve in any part of the island. 
They are so far favored that nominal service 
in this corps is accepted in part in place of 
actual military service under draft, so that 
one may escape two-thirds of the period of 
conscript service by becoming enrolled 
among the volunteers. Most of them are 
active politicians; and by their peninsular 
connections and their true blue Spanish 
loyalty they wield a powerful influence, often 
controlling or displacing even the governor 
general.* 

By means of differential duties, Spain had 
still almost a monopoly of the trade to Cuba, 
while making the Cubans pay high for all that 
they received from the mother country. 
Flour was burdened with duties so heavy that 
wheaten bread ceased to be an article of com- 

* In June, 1870, they took it upon themselves to arrest, and 
send back to Spain, Captain General Dulce, with whom they 
were dissatisfied. They deposed the governor of the province 
of Matanzas, General Lopez Pinto, for like reasons. 



HISTORICAL. 117 

mon food with the bulk of the peopie. The 
annual consumption of bread in Spain was 
400 pounds per capita, while in Cuba it was 
53 pounds 9 ounces. At that time a barrel 
of flour could be bought in New York, car- 
ried to some port in Spain, whereby it became 
naturalized as Spanish flour, reshipped 
across the Atlantic and delivered in Habana 
for $8.75; while, if sent direct from an Ameri- 
can port, it would have cost the wholesale 
dealer $10.46.* 

Among the curiosities of Cuban finance was 
the following postal regulation: A letter 
from Europe, although prepaid, was charged 
25 cents at the Cuban post office, and even 
then was not carried to its destination. For 
delivery there was an additional charge; so a 
Cuban, receiving a prepaid letter at his own 
door, had to pay yj\ cents additional postage. 
Books and parcels were similarly treated. 

v Imposts for revenue alone may be so heavy 
as to defeat their own object. The duties 
laid on Cuban products in Spanish ports 

* Under a convention which went into effect July I, 1892, 
the duties on flour and many other American products were 
greatly reduced ; but the United States tariff legislation of 
1804 had the effect of restoring the former rates. 



Il8 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

made them too costly for the Spanish people. 
The small quantity of sugar produced in the 
peninsula was aided by a bounty; that of Cuba 
was taxed on both sides of the Atlantic till 
finally supplanted by German beet sugar. Of 
the tobacco imported into Spain at the time 
referred to (1868), 70 per cent, was from for- 
eign countries; thus presenting the strange 
spectacle of a nation procuring from abroad 
articles which her own colonies were above all 
fitted to produce. 

Between i860 and 1870 Spain was engaged 
in wars with Morocco, Santo Domingo, 
Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Cochin China, in 
addition to disturbances and revolution at 
home. The condition of things was desper- 
ate, the pressure of debt insupportable. 
Great additions were made to the demands 
on Cuba. It was shown by a committee of 
the Cortes that the increase in two years, 
1 865-66 and 1866-67, was $14,780,150. The 
revenue of the island had been, in 1857, 
$17,960,000; it was now proposed to raise in 
1867-68 over $40,000,000; but the whole was 
never collected. The condition was deplor- 
able. While the people of Spain were paying 
$3.23 per capita of interest on the national 



HISTORICAL. 119 

debt, the Cubans, who had had no part or in- 
terest in contracting that debt, were paying 
$6.39. The cities were hopelessly in debt, 
unable to meet the most necessary municipal 
expenses, or provide proper sewerage, gar- 
bage service, and street cleaning, so essential 
in that climate. It was even asserted that 
the municipal gas bills were eighteen months 
in arrears in Santiago de Cuba, the city where 
the customs revenues were chiefly absorbed 
by peculation. Schools were closed and teach- 
ers unemployed for want of funds. There 
was but one asylum in the island for the in- 
sane — that in Habana; and in other places 
these unfortunate beings were confined in the 
unsanitary cells of the common jails. To 
crown all, amid " poverty, sickness, and dirt," 
in a country a great part of whose surface 
was still a virgin forest, church and state 
holidays, added to the Sabbaths of the world, 
exempted one-third of the year from in- 
dustrial occupations. 

There was at that time an active abolition 
party in Cuba — not philanthropic dreamers, 
but economists who computed that slavery 
was an unprofitable form of labor. Their 
views were moderate. They proposed that 



120 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the owner should be paid $450 for each slave 
between the ages of 7 and 60 years, and that 
this should be paid by the island without 
affecting Spain in any way. The Cuban 
delegates pressed this plan before the Cortes 
until action was taken in 1870. 

The foregoing were the principal causes 
which led to the attempt at revolution in 
1868. And a great part of them still remain. 



CHAPTER V. 

Several months before the revolution in 
Spain and the abdication of Isabella, meas- 
ures had been secretly concerted in Cuba for 
an attempt to achieve independence. But 
matters were progressing so rapidly in the 
mother country that, on October 10, 1868, 
Carlos M. de Cespedes, a lawyer of Bayamo, 
took the initiative with 128 ill-armed men 
and issued a declaration of independence at 
Yara. This declaration justified itself by re- 
ferring in the following terms to the griev- 
ances above stated: 

And as Spain has many a time promised us Cubans to 
respect our rights, without having hitherto fulfilled her 
promises ; as she continues to tax us heavily, and by so 
doing is likely to destroy our wealth ; as we are in danger 
of losing our property, our lives, and our honor under 
further Spanish dominion, etc., etc. 

Within a few weeks Cespedes was at the 
head of 15,000 men, poorly armed and 
equipped, but resolute. In no long time a 



122 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

constitution was drawn up, providing ior a 
republican form of government, an elective 
president and vice president, a cabinet, and a 
single legislative chamber. It also declared 
the immediate abolition of slavery. This 
constitution was promulgated at Guaimaro, 
in Central Cuba, on the ioth of April, 1869. 
The legislature, whose election could not 
have been very regular, met soon after and 
elected Cespedes president and Francisco M. 
Aguilero vice president. 

For the first two years the revolutionists 
were generally successful. They were vic- 
torious in almost every engagement. Mr. 
Dupuy de Lome, the representative of Spain 
near the Government of the United States, 
says* that the greater and better part of the 
representative Cubans were in sympathy with 
the insurrection. But the power of Spain to 
furnish war material and fresh troops was 
greater than that of the insurgents. Fresh 
regiments came over equipped with the best 
modern arms, while the Cubans were always 
badly supplied, and depended largely on what 
they could capture from the royal troops. 
The coast was patrolled by a Spanish squad- 

* In his article in the New York Herald 'of February 23, 1896. 



HISTORICAL. 123 

ron, the most effective part of which was a 
fleet of 30 light-draft gunboats. 

In the springtide of their success the 
Cubans were recognized as belligerents by 
Chile, Bolivia, Guatemala, the (then) United 
States of Colombia, and the Mexican Con- 
gress. Their independence was acknowl- 
edged by Peru on the 13th of June, 1869. 

The insurgents kept the field until the 
spring of 1871, with a force aggregating per- 
haps 50,000 men. But the majority were 
without arms; and supplies of all kinds were 
insufficient and uncertain. It was then that 
the forces operating in the large district of 
Camagiiey, in Central Cuba, indicated a will- 
ingness to lay down their arms if their lives 
should be spared. The proposition being 
accepted, they surrendered. General Agra- 
monte, their commander, who refused to 
yield, was left with no other support than 35 
men and his dignity. Around these as a 
nucleus he organized a body of cavalry, and 
maintained the war for two years longer, 
when he was killed in action. 

Military operations — chiefly skirmishing — 
were carried on in 1873 more actively than 
in any other period of the war, especially in 



124 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Eastern Cuba, which, from its mountainous 
character and distance from the capital, is 
most capable of maintaining independence. 

In the fall of that year the Cuban congress 
deposed President Cespedes, who, after his 
retirement, was found and killed by the Span- 
iards. Salvador Cisneros, the present presi- 
dent of revolutionary Cuba, was elected in his 
place. He is a scion of the old Spanish no- 
bility, being formerly known as the Marques 
de Santa Lucia, and was distinguished by his 
high social rank, his wealth, and his abilities. 
In joining the revolution he renounced his 
title, and his estates were confiscated. A 
small part was restored to him on the return 
of peace. 

The war dragged on in a desultory way 
until 1878, with heavy losses and slight gains 
on either side. On the whole, the revolu- 
tionists were slowly losing ground. This was 
testified by their internal dissensions, if by 
nothing else. Perhaps no party was ever 
long or deeply embarrassed without becom- 
ing divided. In the mean time Spain kept 
sending every year fresh levies to the island, 
only to fall by the diseases of the climate and 
the hands of bushwhackers. We may pity 



HISTORICAL. 125 

the brave Spanish youths that were sent so 
far to a warfare that could yield no laurels, 
for, as they were considered to be fighting 
merely a " horde of bandits," their victories 
could not bring them the same honors, nor 
their defeats the same compensations, that 
were allowed to troops in recognized warfare. 
Our U. S. soldiers who have been engaged in 
fighting Indians will realize the difference 
between " dead on the field of battle " and 
" slain by bandits." 

General Martinez de Campos, then in com- 
mand of the Spanish forces in Cuba, resorted 
to negotiation. The Cubans listened to his 
overtures, and after a due amount of prelimi- 
naries, terms of peace * were concluded in 
February, 1878, at the camp of San Antonio, 
near El Zanjon. Free pardon was offered to 
all who had taken part in the rebellion, and 
those who wished to leave the island were to 
be allowed to do so. 

The numbers engaged and the losses on 
the Cuban side can never be ascertained; but 
on the part of Spain minima are obtainable. 
The records of the Cuerpo de Sanidad Militar 
in the War Office at Madrid show the total 

* See Appendix D. 



126 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



deaths for the ten years to have been, in the 
regular land forces, 81,098.* On deducting 
the losses of the last year — 7500 — the loss in 
the previous nine years is found to be 73,598. 
Add to this the number in the field during 
the last year, 81,700 — in other words, all who 
had previously died and all who were still 
alive — and we have a minimum total of 155,- 
298, to which may be added the 80,000 Volun- 
teers already mentioned, making a total land 
force of 235,298 at the disposal of the captain 
general in the course of the war. 

* The strength of the forces engaged, and the losses for each 
year, were as follows : 



Year. 



1869 
1870 
I8 7 I 
1872 
1873 



Force in 


Deaths. 


Year. 


Force in 


the Field. 






the Field. 


35,570 


5,504 


1874 


62,578 


47,242 


9,395 


1875 


63,212 


55,357 


6,574 


1876 


78,099 


58,708 


7,780 


1877 


90,245 


52,500 


5,902 


1878 


8l,700 



Deaths. 



5,9 2 3 
6,361 
8,482 

17,677 
7,500 



In the year 1877, with an active army of 90,000, there were 
15,708 men on the hospital returns. 

The percentage of deaths during the entire campaign was 
as follows: 



Killed, and died from wounds, 
Died from disease, . 

Total, 



%y z per cent. 
9K 
18 per cent. 



CHAPTER VI. 

During the ten years' war there were two 
incidents which merit a somewhat detailed 
consideration, — the affair of the students and 
the affair of the Virginius, — of which the for- 
mer shocked humanity and the latter came 
near precipitating a war with the United 
States. 

Partisan zeal has sometimes betrayed the 
organization known as the Cuban Volunteers 
into acts of wanton cruelty. The dead body 
of one of their number had been placed in a 
public tomb in Habana, and, later, the reposi- 
tory was found to have been in some manner 
defaced (by writing on the glass of the door, 
it has been asserted). Suspicion pointed to 
the students of the university. On the com- 
plaint of the Volunteer Corps, 43 of these 
young men were arrested and put on trial for 
the offense. An officer of the regular army 
from Spain voluntarily defended them, before 
the military tribunal, with ability and manly 
warmth; and they were acquitted. The 



128 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Volunteers were not satisfied, and obtained 
from the weakness of the governor general 
an order for the assembling of a second court 
martial, of which two-thirds of the members 
should be Volunteers, thus making that body 
at once accuser and judge. By this tribunal 
the accused were as a matter of course all con- 
demned — eight to be shot, and the others to 
terms of imprisonment and hard labor. Next 
morning (November 27, 1871) 15,000 Volun- 
teers turned out under arms and executed the 
eight boys. The affair shot a thrill of 
horror and indignation through the United 
States and was censured by the Spanish 
Cortes; but there was no attempt at punish- 
ment. 

The Virginius was a steamer built in Eng- 
land for use as a blockade-runner during the 
American Civil War. Being captured, she 
was brought to the navy yard at Washing- 
ton, and there sold at auction to one John F. 
Patterson, who took her to New York, and 
made oath that he was a citizen of the United 
States and sole owner of the vessel. He ob- 
tained registry for her at the customhouse, 
and all papers necessary for the protection 
of the ship as a part of the American mer- 



, HISTORICAL. 129 

chant marine; and she sailed for the port of 
Curaqoa, in the Dutch West Indies, on the 
4th of October, 1870, but without cargo or 
insurance. It came to light several years 
later that Patterson was not the bona fide 
owner of the vessel, but that her purchase 
money was furnished and her movements con- 
trolled by a junta of Cuban sympathizers. 
She cruised up and down in the Caribbean 
sea for three years, occasionally visiting the 
coast of Cuba, and never voluntarily re- 
turned to the waters of the United States. 

On the 23d of October, 1873, she was 
regularly cleared from the port of Kingston, 
Jamaica, for Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; 
and, on the morning of the 31st, was seen 
hovering on the coast of Cuba, was chased 
by the Spanish cruiser Tornado until within 
sight of Jamaica, captured, and brought into 
the harbor of Santiago de Cuba on the 1st 
of November. There were 155 persons on 
board. The names of far the greater num- 
ber were Spanish, while 45 indicated Saxon 
lineage, and it was apparent that some of the 
others might be citizens of the United States. 

As the Virginius displayed the American 
colors and was chartered and cleared as an 



130 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

American vessel, she had a prima facie claim 
to protection as such until her right should 
be disproved. Hence Mr. E. G. Schmitt, 
the American vice consul at Santiago, was 
prompt and urgent in demanding access to 
the prisoners with- a view to protecting the 
rights of the vessel and any on board who 
might be American citizens. He was 
treated with great discourtesy by the pro- 
vincial governor, who told him in effect that 
it was none of his (the consul's) business, and 
persisted in declaring that they were all 
pirates and would be dealt with as such. 
Mr. Schmitt was even refused the use of the 
marine cable to consult with the consul at 
Kingston. He would thus have been left 
entirely helpless but for the friendly aid of 
the British and French consuls. His next 
step was to search for, and ask the protec- 
tion of, a United States war vessel, but that 
was necessarily a matter of time. Mean- 
while the authorities in Jamaica were aroused, 
and H. M. S. Niobe, commanded by Sir 
Lambton Lorraine, left Kingston on the 
evening of the 6th of November and reached 
Santiago on the 8th. -The Virginius had 
been brought in about sunset on the ist, and 



HISTORICAL. 131 

a court martial to try the prisoners met at 
nine o'clock next morning. Up to some 
hour on the 8th, 53 persons had been tried 
and shot. It has been asserted that Sir 
Lambton threatened to bombard the town 
unless the executions were stopped instantly. 
We have not been able to find that in any of 
the official documents at hand; yet it is not 
unlikely that that was one of the points 
tacitly understood; and that the sanguinary 
governor was led to contemplate the possi- 
bility of having his palace shelled. In any 
case there was no more shooting. The 
Niobe was re-enforced by the Woodlark on 
the 14th of the month, and Commander 
dishing arrived two days later with the 
U. S. S. Wyoming. 

It may be interesting at this point to see a 
sample of the correspondence between the 
American vice consul and the governor of 
Santiago de Cuba. Those expressions in the 
governor's letter which seem intended to be 
especially pungent or crushing are italicized. 
On the 4th of November his Excellency 
wrote: 

I have received your communications, one dated the 
2d instant and the remaining two others the 3d instant ; 



13 2 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the first inquiring if it was true that a telegram had been 
detained by my orders which you had addressed to the 
United States consul in Kingston, Jamaica, asking infor- 
mation as to the nationality of the steamer Virginias, 
seized on the high seas as a pirate by the Spanish cruiser 
Tornado. In my desire to correspond duly to the ex- 
quisite zeal which you show in this matter, I would have 
replied at once to your communication, but as I received 
it precisely at the moment of important and peremptory 
affairs, to which I had to devote myself exclusively ; and, 
further, as the past two days were holidays, upon which 
the officials do not come to the offices, being engaged, as 
well as everyone else, in meditatio?i of the divine myste- 
ries of All Saints' and the co7ji7nemoratio?i of All Souls' 
days, as prescribed by our holy religion ; it was impos- 
sible for me, until early this morning, to comply with 
your wishes. . . 

Neither could I foresee your desire to repair with such 
haste to the jail where the prisoners were incarcerated, 
much less that you desired to do so, showing an officious- 
ness so marked, when you had received from none of 
them any remonstrance whatever, which they would have 
made at once, through my conduct, if their conscience had 
permitted them to even suppose that they were innocent 
and worthy of the protection of your vice consulate, un- 
doubtedly iinpelled thereto on this occasion for unknown 
and suspicious purposes. 

Such conduct, especially after you were advised by the 
fiscal that Mr. O'Ryan was an Englishman, obliges me 
to apply to the government, and propose that your exe- 
quatur to perform the duties of your vice consulate be 
withdrawn, as an officer who addresses protests so 



HISTORICAL. 133 

slightly founded, and who, after that, attempts to sur- 
prise the intention of the Spanish authorities, accustomed 
to act with the rectitude and loyalty known to all, cannot 
help compromising the honor of the country he repre- 
sents. 

Mr. Schmitt's position was relatively ob- 
scure and his name was not one of national 
celebrity; hence it is all the more gratifying 
to see that he could bear himself in act and 
word so as to maintain his self-respect and 
reflect honor on his country. In his reply he 
said: 

I should have been the last person to disturb the 
important duties of your Excellency, and the religious 
meditations which your Excellency's subordinates were 
indulging in, had it not been that I considered the case 
a pressing one, and imagined that, where there was suf- 
ficient time to censure and detain my telegram, there 
might have been also time for a few lines of explanation, 
with the additional motive of my second dispatch, that I 
observed that the circumstances which your Excellency 
enumerates were no hindrance to the dispatch of other 
business connected with the steamer. 

I shall, therefore, abstain from saying anything further 
on this point than that it seems to me, considering that 
the Virginius was flying the United States flag at the 
time of her capture, that she claimed to be a United 
States merchant-steamer, and her papers as such were 
surrendered by her captain to the boarding officer of the 



134 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

steamer Tornado, it would have been a delicate attention 
on the part of your Excellency to have informed me 
thereof and that the use of such flag and papers was an 
abuse on the goodness of the country which I represent, 
in order that I might have brought the same to the notice 
of my Government. 

Finally, I note your Excellency's intention to apply for 
the revocation of my exequatur, and, while ignorant of 
any cause given therefor, I can only assure your Excel- 
lency that my conscience being perfectly clear in the 
question, and having acted honorably and as I consid- 
ered for the best, the result of your Excellency's applica- 
tion is to me a matter of profound indifference. 

The charge of piracy was so unfounded 
that the deplorable results alone saved it 
from being ridiculous. A pirate is one who, 
without authority from any government, 
commits, upon the high seas, depredations 
that would be felony upon the land. The 
Virginius committed no depredations, and so 
lacked the first essential of piracy. She was 
entitled to no protection, as her American 
papers were obtained under false pretenses; 
but that was an offense only against the laws 
and dignity of the United States, and a ship 
without a country has a natural right peace- 
ably to navigate the high seas unmolested. 
The Virginius was a smuggler and ocean 



HISTORICAL. 135 

tramp, sailing under false colors, ready to 
carry any person or thing, — however pro- 
hibited in any particular country, — and the 
evidence showed that she had not always been 
employed in the interest of the Cubans. 

While the above events were in progress 
the United States was represented at Madrid 
by General Daniel E. Sickles. On receiving, 
on the 6th of November, the first intimation 
of what had taken place, he called at the 
Ministry of State, and saw the President 
in the evening. In reporting the result of 
this interview, he wrote: 

President Castelar received these observations with 
his usual kindness, and told me confidentially that, at 
seven o'clock in the morning-, as soon as he read the tele- 
gram from Cuba, and without reference to any interna- 
tional question, for that, indeed had not occurred to him, 
he at once sent a message to the captain general, admon- 
ishing him that the death penalty must not be imposed 
upon any non-combatant without the previous approval 
of the Cortes, nor upon any person taken in arms against 
the Government without the sanction of the executive. 

The President's order failed to get far- 
ther than Habana in time to do any good. 
There had been two telegraphic lines be- 
tween that city and Santiago de Cuba, one 
around the coast and one overland. The for- 



I3 6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

mer had been for some time out of repair; 
and it was a curious fact, that might or might 
not be significant, that the land line failed the 
very day that the Virginius was brought in. 
It was equally curious that it found a tongue 
the day that the Niobe came into port. 

As no satisfactory answer was received or 
could be received, the patience of the Minis- 
ter of State broke down under the constant 
pressure of General Sickles' remonstrances; 
and he began to imitate at humble distance 
the style of the Cuban governor. The gen- 
eral replied in a manner equally pointed, 
but more dignified. It is difficult to refrain 
from giving at least one brief specimen from 
this diplomatic war of words. General 
Sickles was instructed by the Secretary of 
State to present a solemn protest against the 
barbarities perpetrated at Santiago; and in 
performing that duty he repeated, as nearly 
as might be, the words dictated from Wash- 
ington. To this protest the Minister of 
State, Sefior Carvajal, made an ill-tempered 
reply, in the course of which he used the not 
very happy expression: " The protest being 
thus rejected with serene energy." The 
American envoy, after correcting a number 



HISTORICAL. 137 

of misconceptions, concluded his rejoinder by 
saying : 

And if at last, under the good auspices of Mr. Car- 
vajal, with the aid of that serenity that is unmoved by- 
slaughter and that energy that rejects the voice of 
humanity, which even the humblest may utter and the 
most powerful cannot hush, this government is success- 
ful in restoring order and peace and liberty where hith- 
erto, and now, all is tumult and conflict and despotism, 
the fame of this achievement, not confined to Spain, will 
reach the continents beyond the seas and gladden the 
hearts of millions who believe that the New World dis- 
covered by Columbus is the home of freemen and not of 
slaves. 

On the morning of the 26th of November 
General Sickles asked for his passports, pre- 
paratory to closing the legation and leaving 
Spain. In the afternoon of the same day he 
received a note from Senor Carvajal, conced- 
ing in part, and conditionally, — at least on 
paper, — the demands of the United States 
that the Virginius and the survivors should 
be given up, the perpetrators of the mas- 
sacre tried and punished, and the flag of the 
United States saluted. The subsequent de- 
tails were arranged in Washington between 
the Secretary of State and the Spanish min- 
ister; and the Virginius and the survivors of 



I3 8 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the crew and passengers were surrendered 
to the authorities of the United States on the 
15th of December. On her way to this 
country she was lost in a storm off Cape 
Fear. 

This affair has been presented at consider- 
able length because it has thus far been the 
most critical and exciting international 
event in the history of Cuba, and because it 
offers an illustration of so many points in the 
affairs of the island, especially of the dangers 
that may arise when the just and humane 
intentions of a central government are 
frustrated by remote subordinates and hot- 
blooded populace. 

Considerable sums were paid by Spain as 
compensation to the families of American 
citizens and British subjects executed at 
Santiago; but the governor who ordered the 
executions was never punished. The amount 
paid over, in order to be distributed among 
the families of American sufferers, was 
$80,000. 

The Virginius, although the most con- 
spicuous, was not the only victim of the 
Spanish mismanagement in Cuba. During 
1877 the three whaling vessels, Ellen Rizpah, 



HISTORICAL. 139 

Rising Sim and Edward Lee while pursuing 
their legitimate business under the American 
flag, outside of Cuban waters, were fired upon 
and detained for days, with circumstances of 
peculiar hardship and brutality. The United 
States Government carefully investigated the 
cases and asked an aggregate indemnity of 
$19,500, but, in that indulgent spirit which 
marks its foreign policy, accepted $10,000. 



CHAPTER VII. 

During the succeeding years of the war, 
the situation in Cuba, the accumulating 
claims of American citizens for spoliation 
suffered there, and the progressive ex- 
haustion of both parties to the strife, 
engaged the most earnest attention of the 
Government of the United States, which was, 
however, disposed to proceed with extreme 
lenity and caution. The Secretary of State, 
Hamilton Fish, on the 5th of November, 
1875, addressed a dispatch (No. 266) to 
Caleb Gushing, then Minister to Spain. 
That document,* after recapitulating a num- 
ber of private claims, long outstanding, 
entered into a general statement of the 
Cuban case and urged the necessity that 
something be done to restore peace to the 
distracted island. The course contemplated 
was the most gentle and soothing possible 
— merely to persuade the combatants to come 

*See Appendix B. 
i 4 o 



HISTORICAL. 141 

to an understanding and agreement, satis- 
factory to both, and of universal advantage. 
This celebrated No. 266 was also to be read 
in confidence to the proper members of the 
cabinets of Paris, London, Berlin, St. 
Petersburg, Vienna, and Rome, with a view 
to inducing those governments, or some of 
them, to add their friendly voices in favor of 
pacification. 

The whole Cuban situation was again re- 
viewed,* and mediation proposed, in Presi- 
dent Grant's annual message of December 
7, 1875, but without any direct or visible 
effect. Still these repeated efforts on the 
part of the United States may have had some 
influence in bringing the Spanish authorities 
to consent to treat with the revolutionists, as 
was done at El Zanjon.t 

Those who are inclined to be dissatisfied 
with the present Executive for not declaring 
at once in favor of the revolutionists of 
1895—96 would do well to consider the at- 
titude of the Government in 1875, especially 
as General Grant was a man whose patriot- 
ism and Americanism had been so long and 

* See Appendix C. f See Appendix D. 



142 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

thoroughly tested. The position of an 
official, high or low, invested with powers for 
the discharge of specific duties and girt 
around with laws and obligations, is very 
different from that of the individual who has 
no such responsibilities. The private citi- 
zen may often feel that something ought to 
be done when the magistrate cannot see 
that it is his duty to do it, or to do it in 
a particular way. On the other hand it is 
to be remembered that President Grant's 
amiable intentions and earnest efforts were 
almost, if not wholly, thrown away, and that 
the probability of bringing the present con- 
testants to agree upon terms that will be 
mutually and permanently satisfactory, is 
very remote. 

After the capitulation of El Zanjon in 1878, 
there were promises and expectations of radi- 
cal reforms in the administration of Cuba; 
but the promises were not kept in the sense 
in which they were accepted, and the ex- 
pectations were not realized. Perhaps they 
could not be. The failure will appear more 
fully when we come to consider the govern- 
ment and finances of the island.* The 

*See pp. 183 and 198. 



HISTORICAL. 143 

essential features of the case remain the same 
— the enormous public debt, the consequent 
heavy and complicated taxation, the high 
salaries of officials, the corrupt administra- 
tion, and the entire absence of responsibility 
to those who pay the money. Sehor Perez 
Castaheda said in the Spanish Senate, June 
24, 1891: 

The debt of Cuba was created in 1864 by a simple 
issue of $3,000,000, and it now amounts to the fabulous 
sum of $175,000,000. What originated the Cuban debt? 
The wars of Santo Domingo, of Peru, and of Mexico. 
But are not these matters for the Peninsula? Certainly 
they are matters for the whole of Spain. Why must 
Cuba pay that debt ? 

El Globo of Madrid, October 27, 1891, 
said: 

The debt has gone on increasing, although from 1878 
to the 30th of June, 1891, $115,336,304 has been paid for 
interest and redemption. 

The national debt was at that time stated 
at $1,211,453,696. The annual payment for 
interest and sinking fund was: 

The Spanish share, ..... $56,752,355 
The Cuban share, 10,435,183 

Total, .... 67,187,538 



H4 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

In addition to the permanent debt were 
the high salaries and the peculations already 
alluded to, injudicious expenditures, and 
estates in mortmain. Senor Romero Ro- 
bledo, in a debate in the Congreso de Dipu- 
tados at Madrid, after reading a report of 
malfeasances in the government of Habana, 
added: 

I do not intend to read the whole of the report ; but I 
must put the House in possession of one fact. To what 
do these defalcations amount ? They amount to the 
following sum : twenty-two millions, eight hundred and 
eleven thousand, five hundred and sixteen pesos 
($22,811,516). Did not the Government know this? 
What has been done? — Diario de las sesiones de Cortes, 
May 28, 1890. 

A speech of General Pando, delivered in 
the same legislative body, March 8, 1890, and 
published in the Epoca of Madrid, foots up 
a series of these embezzlements and defalca- 
tions at $40,000,000, — more than the annual 
revenue of the island. Senor Castaneda said 
in the same House, June 24, 1891: 

How can anyone doubt that corruption exists in the 
island of Cuba? General Prendergast has furnished 
your Excellency, or the Directory of your department, 
with a list of 350 persons employed in the customhouse 



HISTORICAL. 1 45 

and the administration against whom proceedings have 
been taken for fraud, and not one of them has been 
punished. 

In an article by Deputy Dolz in the Ateneo 
de Madrid in the spring of 1895, it was 
alleged that the customhouse frauds in Cuba 
since the peace of 1878 amounted to 
$100,000,000. Rafael de Eslava of Habana, 
in his " Juicio Critico de Cuba en 1887," thus 
summed up his judgment: 

Granted the correctness of the points which I have 
just presented, it seems to be self-evident that a curse is 
pressing upon Cuba, condemning her to witness her own 
disintegration, and converting her into a prey for the 
operation of those swarms of vampires that are so cruelly 
devouring us, deaf to the voice of conscience, if they 
have any; it will not be rash to venture the assertion 
that Cuba is undotze ; there is no salvation possible. 

There was another cause of unrest and dis- 
content, not chargeable to the Spanish 
Government, but too important to be passed 
over. It is the increasing production, and 
consequent diminishing price of the lead- 
ing articles upon which Cubans have to de- 
pend. The principal of these is sugar, the 
market for which is now disputed by the 
same article derived from other sources. 



146 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



The manufacture of sugar from beets may be 
said practically to have had its beginning in 
1830. Even so late as 1853 the yield from 
that source was only about 200,000 tons; 
but it has now for many years attained a 
national, and even international importance. 
The introduction of improved methods, after 
the abolition of slavery in Cuba, greatly in- 
creased the output in that island; but, while 
other countries gave encouragement to home 
production by bounties, drawbacks, or im- 
port duties, the Cuban planter had to con- 
tend with a heavy tax on his crop, a heavy 
duty on the machinery for preparing it, a 
light export duty, and a duty at the port of 
destination. The following table shows the 
world's production of beet sugar for the past 
five years, and the percentage thereof 
furnished by the German Empire: 



1891, 


. 3,501,920 ■ 




1892, 


. 3,442,198 




1893, . 


. . 3.889.535 


39 per cent 


1894, 


• 4.792,530 




1895, . 


. 4,270,000 . 





The Revieiv of the Sugar Trade in 
1894 estimated the world's annual pro- 



HISTORICAL. 



147 



duction of sugar at 8,100,000 tons — a pro- 
duction that had so far outrun the demand 
as to leave a surplus of 1,000,000 tons on the 
market. In the 40 years from 1853 to 1893 
the production of cane sugar had increased 
2,\ fold, that of beet sugar 20 fold. The fol- 
lowing table shows the production of cane 
sugar for a series of years, and the percent- 
age thereof furnished by Cuba: 



Years. 


Tons. 


Per Cent. 


1880 


1,979,900 


25. 


1881 


2,044,000 


24.47 


1882 


2,056,000 


23.6 


1883 


2,210,400 


25-4 


1884 


2,260,100 


27.7 


1885 


2,232,000 


27.64 


1886 


2,503,000 


25. 


1887 


2,501,735 


27.6 


1888 


2,818,708 


21. 


1889 


2,069,464 


21. 1 


1890 


2,554,536 


27-75 


1891 


3,124,525 


28. 


1892 


3,045,486 


27-3 


1893 


3,490,469 


3*- 


1894 


3,529,849 


29.6 


1895 


2,847,700 


10.5 



During the same period, the annual whole- 
sale prices of sugar in the New York market 
have been as follows: 



148 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 





Raw Centrifu- 


Soft Standard 


Hard Granulated, 


Years. 


gals, cents 


A, cents 


cents 




per Pound. 


per Pound. 


per Pound. 


1878 


7-25 


8.94 


9-30 


1879 


6.93 


8.53 


8.8l 


1S80 


7.88 


9.48 


9.80 


1881 


7.62 


9.84 


9.70 


1882 


7.29 


8.87 


9-35 


1883 


6.79 


8.14 


8.65 


1884 


5.29 


6.37 


6.75 


1885 


5-19 


6.06 


6.53 


1886 


5.52 


5.81 


6.23 


1887 


5.33 


5-66 


6.02 


1888 


5-93 


6.69 


7.18 


1889 


6.57 


7-59 


7.89 


1890 


5-57 


6. co 


6.27 


1891 


3-92 


4-47 


4.65 


1892 


3-32 


4.21 


4-35 


1393 


3-69 


4.72 


4.84 


1894 


3-24 


4.00 


4.12 



Under the present trend of events, taxa- 
tion remaining the same, it would not be long 
before Cuban sugar would be excluded from 
the markets of the world. 

In the struggle for the survival of the 
fittest — that is, the fittest to survive under 
the circumstances — Cuban tobacco has fared 
little better than Cuban sugar. In a report 
of the British consul at Habana in the spring 
of 1895, the decline in the tobacco trade is 
shown for six years. The export of cigars, 
rated at $40 per 1000, amounted 



HISTORICAL. 



149 



In 1889, to 
In 1890, to 
In 1891, to 
In 1892, to 
In 1893, to 
In 1894, to 



$10,019,040 
8,472,920 
7,866,560 
6,668,480 
5,894,600 
5,368,400 



The decline is due to general taxation, the 
export duty of $1.80 per 1000, and increas- 
ing competition in other countries, especially 
the United States. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The causes indicated in the foregoing 
pages have within these 30 or 40 years led 
to the voluntary, or involuntary, exile of 
a large number of Cubans, although the 
natural resources of the island have been more 
than sufficient for all her children. There 
are said to be 40,000 in the United States, 
there are active juntas in the British Islands, 
and they are also dispersed through the West 
Indies and Latin America. 

While peaceable residents, they are not un- 
mindful of their former home; and have at 
heart what they suppose to be for its best 
interests. The Spanish Government natu- 
rally complains that the peace of the island is 
constantly disturbed or threatened by per- 
sons outside of its borders; but the causes 
which placed them outside should be taken 
into account. The complaint, too, lies 
against every free country that is geographi- 
cally accessible; and the right of asylum for 
150 



HISTORICAL. 151 

political offenders has been exercised for more 
than 3000 years. No doubt active men in 
the several foreign countries sometimes com- 
municate and concert with each other and 
with their friends at home; but for that there 
is neither remedy or responsibility until some 
overt act is committed. 

In such a manner a rising in Cuba was con- 
certed about the close of 1894. The chief 
organizer was Jose Marti, then in New York. 
The time set for a public demonstration 
was February 24, 1895. Marti chartered 
three vessels, the Lagonda, the Amadis, 
and the Baracoa, and sailed with men and 
war materials. The expedition was stopped 
at Fernandina, Fla., by the United States 
authorities. About the end of January, 
Marti left New York for Santo Domingo, 
there to join Maximo Gomez, who had 
been a military leader in the former war. 
These and other Cuban leaders seem not to 
have reached the island before the month 
of May, and, when the appointed day — 
February 24 — arrived, only 24 men defied 
the authorities at Ybarra in the province 
of Matanzas. Martial law had been pro- 
claimed throughout the island the day 



152 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

before. The small number of the in- 
surgents and the absence of recognized 
leaders seem at first to have deceived the 
Spanish authorities into a belief that the 
whole was little more serious than a negro 
riot, and would be speedily suppressed, as 
Spain had then in the island an army of 
19,000 men, in addition to so many of the 
59,000 volunteers as it might be necessary 
to call out.* Still, to make quite sure, an 
additional force of 7000 was sent over in the 
early days of March. 

The months of March and April were 
eventful. Before the arrival of any of the 
principal leaders, the rebels were rather gain- 
ing ground. Events did not move pleas- 

* The following is from pp. 754-55 of the Spanish Army List 
(Anuario Militar de Espand) for 1896, and may be taken as 
an official statement of the strength of the armed forces on 
duty in Cuba at the outbreak of the insurrection : 

" The strength of the permanent army of the Island of 
Cuba is fixed for the fiscal year 1894-95 at 13,842 men, to 
which are to be added 4560 of the Civil Guard, 976 of the 
Orden Pziblico, and 943 of the Corps of Volunteers paid from 
the war section of the Budget for the island. 

" The Civil Guard is organized into a General Sub-Inspec- 
torate comprising 3 regiments, each composed of 4 battalions. 
The total strength is 26 companies and 13 squadrons, with 
25 field officers, 166 company officers, 3270 infantry Guardias, 



HISTORICAL. 153 

antly for the Government at Madrid. Its 
representative at Washington was recalled, 
and another sent in his place. Captain 
General Emilio Calleja Isasi had to be re- 
called, and was succeeded by General 
Arsenio Martinez de Campos y Anton, who 
had ended the previous insurrection by 
negotiation rather than by force of arms. 
He arrived in Cuba with fresh re-enforce- 
ments about the 10th of April. Later in the 
month the brothers Antonio and Jose Maceo, 
together with Crombet, Cebreco, and some 
20 more revolutionary leaders arrived from 
Costa Rica. Ten days later Jose Marti, the 
acknowledged head and general-in-chief of 

and 1130 cavalry Guardias with 1125 horses. At their head 
is a brigadier general with the title of sub-inspector general. 

" The Corps of Or den Piiblico has 2 field officers, 21 com- 
pany officers, and 919 infantrymen, with 2 company officers 
and 57 guards in the mounted section. 

"In addition to the above forces, there is the Habana Bat- 
talion of White Militia, the Espana Battalion of Colored 
Militia, the mounted militia of Habana and of Matanzas, and 
finally the Corps of Volunteers, which numbers 37 battalions 
of Infantry, 2 battalions and I mounted brigade of Artillery, 
12 regiments of Cavalry, and 2 companies of Guides, with a 
total of 59,114 men, permanently armed, and maintained at 
their own expense (excepting trumpeters and quartermaster 
sergeants, who are paid out of the Budget of the island)." 



154 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

the insurrection, Maximo Gomez y Baez, the 
present general-in-chief, Borrero, and Angel 
Guerra arrived from Santo Domingo. The 
movement, whether revolt or revolution, was 
thus fairly launched, and has now (May i, 
1896) been going on fourteen months. 

Early in the course of the disturbance an 
incident occurred which caused a sudden 
flurry in the public mind in the United 
States, very excusable in those who remem- 
bered the events of the last u unpleasant- 
ness " in Cuba. The events, perhaps, cannot 
be told better than in the words of President 
Cleveland in his annual message of December 
2, 1895: 

One notable instance of interference by Spain with 
passing American ships has occurred. On March 8 last, 
the Allianqa, while bound from Colon to New York, and 
following the customary track for vessels near the Cuban 
shore, but outside the three-mile limit, was fired upon by 
a Spanish gunboat. Protest was promptly made by the 
United States against this act as not being justified by a 
state of war, nor permissible in respect of a vessel on the 
usual paths of commerce, nor tolerable in view of the 
wanton peril occasioned to innocent life and property. 
The act was disavowed, with full expression of regret, 
and assurance of non-recurrence of such just cause of 
complaint, while the offending officer was relieved of his 
command. 



HISTORICAL. 155 

That is about the whole of the A Manga 
affair; and if we contrast it with that of the 
Virginias, and suppose the two to be at all 
characteristic of their respective dates, they 
afford a most encouraging example of human 
progress. 

Active military operations have to be dis- 
continued during the rainy season, from the 
end of April to the end of October, on 
account of the state of the roads and the 
prevalence of fevers engendered by the heat 
and dampness. The muddy trails of the 
country become impassable for large bodies 
of men and material, while small parties of 
insurrectionists steal through the mountain 
paths with which they are familiar. Under 
such circumstances, which have been more or 
less present from the beginning, it would be 
useless to try to detail battles that were 
only skirmishes, and of which accounts are 
meager and open to suspicion of partiality. 
Marti was killed in action May 19, and Gomez 
assumed the chief command. The Spanish 
forces are always at least twice as strong 
numerically as their opponents; and the dis- 
parity in point of equipment is still greater. 
While the interest, therefore, of the one 



156 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

party is to come to a pitched battle, — a fair 
stand-up fight, once for all, — it is the equally 
legitimate policy of the other to avoid such 
trial of strength. A Macedonian phalanx 
might trample down everything that would 
be accommodating enough to get in its way 
and stay there; but a good corps of sharp- 
shooters would pick off every man of them 
without receiving a scratch. So it has been 
a constant reproach by the Spaniards that 
the rebels would not stay still long enough 
to be killed. 

The first concentration of the rebellion was 
in the province of Santiago de Cuba, the 
most mountainous and intricate and the most 
remote from the capital. Thence the in- 
surrection spread westward. In November 
the revolutionists were operating in the 
province of Puerto Principe. For reasons 
to be shown presently, Gomez issued orders 
that the sugar crops should be everywhere 
destroyed; and thereupon it became the first 
duty of General Martinez de Campos to pre- 
vent the destruction. 

There is a line of forts known as the trocha 
{i. <?., trench or traverse) across the island 
between the provinces of Puerto Principe 



HISTORICAL. 157 

and Santa Clara. Garrisons were placed in 
these, and the intervals were occupied by 
small detachments of troops. General 
Martinez de Campos had conceived the plan 
of this line of defense in a moment of inspi- 
ration during the previous ten years' war, 
which he had terminated successfully; and 
now, occupying it again with 100,000 men at 
his command, he felt confident of being able 
to say, " Hitherto shalt thou come, but no 
further." Yet the insurgents under Gomez 
and Maceo were able to slip through, and 
return with captured arms and supplies, 
spreading havoc far and wide, and alarm still 
more widely. The idea of a trocha to fence 
out an enemy was still thought to be good 
in itself, but this one was adjudged to be too 
remote; so a second was drawn through Las 
Cruces and Las Lajas, skirting the great salt 
marsh of Zapata. When that proved equally 
ineffectual, General Martinez de Campos re- 
treated in the direction of the capital, and 
constructed a third and shorter military line 
directly across the island from Matanzas to 
the bay of La Broa. As a further precau- 
tion, he placed on the railroad from Habana 
to Batabano hundreds of freight cars, which 



15 8 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

were plated with boiler iron, with loop-holes 
pierced for rifles. These were filled with 
soldiers, and kept running at intervals day 
and night. But these obstacles were over- 
come like the others, a portion of the rail- 
road track was torn up, and General Maceo, 
with his division of the insurgent army, 
moved westward into the rich tobacco region 
of Pinar del Rio, where preparations had been 
made for his friendly reception. 

General Martinez de Campos, with a large, 
disciplined, and well-appointed army, had 
thus repeatedly committed the grave mili- 
tary offense of being outgeneraled by what 
some would fain have us believe to be only a 
handful of negroes, too illiterate to read the 
names on the street signs. Such partisans 
seem not to reflect that the more they be- 
little the insurgents the more they dishonor 
the Spanish troops that can make no head 
against them. 

The Spanish forces kept falling back upon 
Habana, which created so great dissatis- 
faction at Madrid and among the " peninsu- 
lars " that Martinez de Campos was recalled. 
He sailed for Spain on the 17th of January, 
his place being temporarily filled by General 



HISTORICAL. . 159 

Sabas Marin; and on the 10th of February he 
was succeeded by General Valeriano Weyler 
y Nicolau, Marquis of Tenerife, whose char- 
acter the Cuban sympathizers have sought to 
blacken with the odious and antiquated vice 
of relentless cruelty. No doubt more energy 
and success were expected of him than were 
found in his predecessor; but it is not likely 
that he is quite so nearly a cannibal as he is 
represented. He has now (June, 1896) been 
four months on the island, clothed with legal 
omnipotence, and we have heard of no re- 
markable success yet, nor is it likely that 
there will be before November. 

During all this time there are reported 
assurances that, as soon as further re-enforce- 
ments arrive from Spain, Captain General 
Weyler will take the field in person, and show 
how easily local disturbances can be quelled 
by one who knows how. In the meantime 
he too has tried his hand at fence-building. 
He has established a fourth trocha across the 
island from Majana to Mariel, about 25 miles 
west of Habana. As this particular barrier 
is the one most in interest at present, it may 
be described more particularly. It consists 
of a ditch, as the name trocha would indicate, 



ioo 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



NEW TROCH A 1896. 

Scale of Miles. 




HISTORICAL. 161 

nine feet deep, containing water in the low 
places. On each bank is a wire fence, and on 
the east side is a beaten road, which is 
patrolled by cavalry and light artillery. 
Along the west bank are detached earth- 
works, guarded by troops and connected by 
telephone. The approaches to both sides 
are protected by rifle pits, about 70 feet 
apart, and screened by a line of trous-de-loup. 
Interviewers report that the governor con- 
gratulates himself very much on his success 
in fencing the rebels in. On two points, 
however, better information is needed: 
whether Maceo has any wish to leave Pinar 
del Rio; and whether he would have any 
difficulty in doing so, if he tried. 

General Weyler has at his disposal at least 
120,000 regulars, 50,000 volunteers as home 
guard, and a large naval coast guard. The 
figures puzzle the lexicography of the world, 
to determine whether that is war or the chase 
of the legal authorities after a bandit horde. 

According to official figures obtained from 
Madrid, there were in Cuba at the beginning 
of the insurrection, in February, 1895: 



162 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



19.378 



15 battalions (60 companies) of Infantry, 

2 regiments (8 squadrons) of Cavalry, 
1 battalion (4 companies) of Fortress 

Artillery, 
I battery of Mountain Artillery, 
1 battalion (4 companies) of Engineers, 

3 regiments of Guardia Civil. 
1 battalion of Orden Publico, 
1 Disciplinary Brigade, 
1 Sanitary Brigade, 

Various bodies of local troops and special 
corps, 

From the beginning of the outbreak, until 
March to, 1896 (the date of the latest official 
returns available), nine successive bodies of 
re-enforcements had been sent over, aggre- 
gating 121,326 men, in the following propor- 
tions of grade: 

General officers, 40 

Field officers, 562 

Company officers, 4,768 

Sergeants, 3.396 ' 

Corporals and privates, . . . 112,560 



Total, 121,326 

thus making the largest military force ever 
transported by sea. The strength of the 
several expeditions, and the dates at which 
they were embarked, are as follows: 



HISTORICAL. 163 



1st Expedition (March 8 to March 21, 1895) 



8,593 



2d " (April 1 to April 19, 1895), . . 7,477 

3d " (April 24 to May 8, 1895), . . 4,008 

4th " (May 20 to June 10, 1895), . . 2,962 

5th " (June 18 to July 21, 1895), . . 9,601 

6th " (July 31 to September 30, 1895), . 29,055 

7th " (October 5 to November 30, 1895), 26,639 
8th* " (December 10, 1895, to January 

28, 1896), 9,033 

9th* Expedition (February 12 to March 10, 1896), 22,432 

2 battalions Chasseurs from Puerto Rico, . . 1,526 



Total, 121,326 

Adding this total to that of the original per- 
manent force, we obtain 140,704 as the 
strength t of the Spanish troops over which 
General Weyler took command upon his 
arrival — losses deducted. 

The losses in the present Cuban campaign, 
up to January 16, 1896, according to the 
records of the Spanish Medical Corps, are as 
follows: 



* In making up the quotas for the latest re-enforcements, 
deserters, fugitives from the draft (firdfugos), and men under 
light sentences were pardoned and enrolled. 

f To this number must be added such of the Cuban Volun- 
teers as had been mobilized — given in official reports as 5 500. 



1 64 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Killed in action, 286 

Died from wounds, 119 

" " yellow fever {yomito) . . 3,190 

" " other diseases, . . . 282 



Total, 3,877 

The total number admitted to hospital dur- 
ing this period was 7708. The losses, there- 
fore, if these statements are accurate, have 
been relatively slight, compared with those of 
the campaign of 1869—78.* 

It may aid us in appreciating the magni- 
tude of Spain's military operations, if we 
glance at the armament sent over since the 
outbreak of the insurrection. Omitting field 
pieces and heavy ordnance, there have been 
sent, according to official returns: 

Infantry and Cavalry Small Arms. 

64,125 Spanish Mauser magazine rifles, caliber 7 mm., 
model 1893. 
1,176 Spanish Mauser magazine rifles, caliber 7.65 mm. 
69,639 Remington repeating rifles, caliber .43 in., model 

1871-89. 
io.ooo Remington repeating rifles, caliber .43 in., model 

1871. 
5,027 Mauser carbines, caliber 7 mm., model 1893. 

* See p. 126. 



HISTORICAL. 165 

Ammunition. . 

33,660,000 cartridges for Mauser 7 mm. rifle and carbine. 

7,441,273 " " " 7.65 mm. rifle. 

13,725,520 " . " Remington rifle, model 1871-89. 

7,051,575 " " " " « 1871. 

Note. — These figures include what was carried by the 
troops. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The numbers of the revolutionists cannot 
be ascertained with any certainty. They 
have been variously stated to be from 30,000 
to 50,000 men,* but the former is no doubt 

* The Habana correspondent of Le Temps (Paris) furnished 
that paper with the following statement of the strength and 

distribution of the insurgent forces at the end of Decem- 
ber, 1895 : 

Maximo Gomez, in Matanzas, .... 5,000 men 

Antonio Maceo, in Matanzas, .... 4,000 " 

Jose Maceo, in Santiago de Cuba, . . . 3,000 " 

Lacret, in Santa Clara, 2,500 " 

Nunez, in Habana, . . . . . . 1,600 " 

Roloff, in Santa Clara, ..... 1,500 " 

Rego, in Matanzas, ...... 1,500 " 

Rabi, in Santiago de Cuba, .... 1,000 " 

Cortina, in Santa Clara, ..... 1,000 " 

Quintin Banderas, in Sancti-Spiritus, . . . 1,000 " 

Bernnidez, in Habana, 500 " 

Pancho Pe'rez, in Santa Clara, .... 800 " 

Peri co Diaz, in Santa Clara, .... 500 " 

Basilio Guerra, in Las Villas, . . . . 800 " 

Lino Perez, in Trinidad, 700 " 

Castillo, in Sagua, ...... 500 " 

16$ 



HISTORICAL. 



167 



nearest the truth. As their object is not 
fighting, they do not need large armies. 
Stigmatizing them as " negroes " is, in part 
at least, an appeal to the prejudice not yet 
extinct in this country; but Captain Wm. F. 
Mannix of Washington City, who has just 
returned from Cuba, and who had the rare 
opportunity of mixing among them, stated 



Vidal, in Sagua, . 








600 men 


Cebreco, in Santiago de Cuba, 








500 " 


Zayas, in Habana, 








500 " 


Rafael Socorro, in Cienfuegos, 








200 " 


Ruen, in Guantanamo, 








200 " 


Miro, in Santiago de Cuba, 








400 " 


Ignacio Suarez, in Sagua, . 








200 " 


Juan Bravo, in Trinidad, . 








200 " 


Pajarito, in Remedios, 








200 " 


Munoz, in Cienfuegos, 








5o " 


Clotilde Garcia, in Cardenas, 








600 " 


Luis Chapotin, in Cardenas, 








400 " 


Perico Cardenos, in Cardenas, 








500 " 


Robau, in Cardenas, . 








500 " 


R, Carrillo, in Matanzas, . 








400 " 



30,750 men 
A dispatch to the United Press, dated Habana, March 14, 
1896, gave a somewhat similar distribution list, with a total of 
42,800 men. This dispatch was read in full in the United 
States Senate, and published in the Congressional Record for 
March 23, 1896, on p. 3424. 



168 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

their proportions at 40 per cent, white, 40 
per cent, negro, and 20 per cent, of mixed 
blood — i.e., just half and half. 

The leaders who have thus far shown the 
highest capacity are Maximo Gomez and An- 
tonio Maceo. The former, now 73 years of 
age, is a native of Santo Domingo, but took 
an active part in the revolutionary attempt 
of 1868. The Maceo brothers are half- 
breeds, both parents being mulattoes. They 
have been represented as negroes, wholly un- 
educated; but Captain Mannix, who exhibits 
with some pride a machete received from the 
hand of Antonio, describes him as of superb 
physical development, a gentleman of at- 
tractive manners, and not only a dashing 
cavalry commander but a man of unusual 
attainments, and even habits of study. It is 
hoped that General Sheridan will not be dis- 
turbed in his cerements by the suggestion of 
a slight resemblance. If it be said that the 
rebels are poor, obscure, and not the " solid 
men " of the island, that charge is so true of 
all revolutionary movements, and so trite, 
that we may wonder at the feeble intelligence 
of anyone who would repeat it. Bankers, 



HISTORICAL. 169 

brokers, importers, and government contract- 
ors are not the men to sleep in the woods or 
trudge at the tail, of revolutionary cannon. 

In conducting the present war the object 
of Spain is naturally to suppress the revolt by 
any means available, and as speedily as pos- 
sible. The rebels do not wish to shed blood; 
and they are not straitened for time. They 
strike at the enemy's weakest point. They 
war not against flesh and blood, but against 
Spain's financial credit. Every fall in the 
market value of Spanish securities, every def- 
icit in the revenue, every month's pay of the 
army in arrear, every unpaid bill for transpor- 
tation and supplies, is to them an indirect 
victory more acceptable than a dozen inno- 
cent Spanish youths left dead on the field. 
Hence the burning of sugar cane is not a 
mere insane act of barbarism, but one of 
deliberate policy. The planter whose crop is 
destroyed cannot pay his income tax; and as 
he has nothing to send abroad, he can buy 
no foreign goods to pay duty at the custom- 
house. This is given as an explanation, not 
as a justification. The acts of domestic war- 
fare can seldom be justified. Minister 



170 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Dupuy de Lome, in his article in the New 
York Herald of February 23, 1896, seems 
either not to understand the subject fully or 
not to state it fully, as he limits the loss on 
the part of Spain to the small export duty. 
Yet he is so far aware of its importance as to 
say in speaking of General Martinez de Cam- 
pos: " He knew perfectly well that if the 
sugar crop could be gathered, the backbone 
of the insurrection would be broken." That 
being the real point in dispute, success has 
thus far inclined to the side of the insurgents; 
for, while Cuba produced in 1894 1,040,000 
tons of sugar, the crop of 1895 was only 
300,000 tons. (See table on p. 147.) 

When prisoners are taken by the Spaniards 
they are sent to the Isle of Pines for confine- 
ment, or to the penal colony of Ceuta on the 
coast of Africa. Those taken by the Cubans 
are disarmed and allowed to go. The rifle 
and cartridge-box are more important than 
the man who bears them. There have been 
some exchanges of prisoners, but they have 
been few. With the imperfect information 
obtainable, it would be rash to say that none 
are ever shot on either side. 



HISTORICAL. 17 1 

Notwithstanding the vigilance of the coast 
guard, military supplies have sometimes 
reached the island, and some are captured 
from the enemy. The proportion of each is 
unknown. When the insurgents have been 
denied the freedom of a town, and capture it, 
they help themselves to what they want and 
can find; but among their friends in the 
country districts they are furnished gratui- 
tously with food, clothing, and horses. 

When it is said that the revolutionists 
occupy certain provinces, it is not to be 
understood that they carry on or control all 
the functions of local government, but only 
that they move unhindered, and do whatever 
they undertake, except in the large towns. 

Marti, the organizer of the revolution, 
upon landing in Cuba, issued a call for a con- 
stitutional convention. It was on the 13th 
of September, and long after Marti's death, 
that the convention met at Camagiiey. 
There were present representatives from all 
the provinces except Pinar del Rio, 20 in all, 
and 20 from the several divisions of the 
army. On the 16th of September a con- 
stitution was completed and adopted. Two 



I7 2 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

days later the convention elected the follow- 
ing* officers of state: 

* 

President. — Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, who had 
held the same position in the former revolutionary 
government. 

Vice President. — Bartolome Maso, a prominent citizen 
of Manzanillo. . 

Secretary of State for Foreign Affair J 1 . ^-Rafael Por- 
tuondo y Tamayo, a member of a wealthy and distin- 
guished family of Santiago de Cuba. 

Secretary of War. — Carlos Roloff of Santa Clara, a 
native of Poland, who had come to Cuba in his youth, 
and had borne a part in the previous struggle. 

Secretary of the Treasury. — Severo Pina, of an old 
and wealthy family of Sancti Spiritus. 

General-in-Chief — Maximo Gomez y Baez, the brain 
and will of the insurrection. 

Lieutenant General. — Antonio Maceo. 

The convention also passed laws dividing 
the island into States, districts, and pre- 
fectures, regulating marriages, establishing 
post offices, and providing' for -the collection 
of taxes. In some places local officers have 
been installed. The whole is tolerably com- 
plete on paper; and yet it. would seem that the 
powers and functions of the new government 
must still be to a great extent in abeyance. 
We have no definite and reliable information 



HISTORICAL. i)% 

whether the President and heads of depart- 
ments have offices, clerks, and records, or to 
what extent they discharge the functions 
usually associated with their titles. 

The headquarters of the insurgents is called 
Cubitas, and is the top of a mountain 25 miles 
from Puerto Principe. It is extremely diffi- 
cult of access in the face of even very slight 
opposition. For a considerable distance the 
pathway is a mere spiral fillet wound round 
the side of a steep mountain, too narrow in 
places for horsemen to ride abreast, and a 
dozen men could defend it against the armies 
of Xerxes. The top of the mountain is 
tolerably level, and embraces more than a 
square mile of arable land, where corn, sweet 
potatoes, and the other island products are 
raised. Here the revolutionists have a center 
of communication, temporary wooden build- 
ings, and a dynamite factory. If held by a 
small body of resolute men, the place would 
be equally difficult to storm or starve. It is 
curious to observe that these West Indian 
wars are all on the same pattern, determined 
by climate and topography. That was espe- 
cially true of the most instructive of them all, 
the Maroon war in Jamaica, which will be re- 



174 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ferred to again at greater length. The 
Maroons, as will be seen, held a similarly in- 
accessible mountain fastness, from which 
they defied the English Government for 74 
years. 



PART III 

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 
By M. M. Ramsey, A. M. 



POPULATION. 

While the area of Cuba and its dependent 
islands is nearly as great as that of Pennsyl- 
vania,* it has less than one-third as many 
inhabitants as the " Keystone State." Yet 
when we bear in mind that the desert sand- 
keys that skirt the island, the impassable 
swamps that line its south coast, and the 
rugged and unexplored uplands of its eastern 
extremity, altogether occupy fully one-fifth 
of its area, we may conclude that Cuba is 
fairly well inhabited. Estimating its habit- 
able area at 32,500 square miles, we see that 

* Area of Pennsylvania, 45,215 sq. m. ; estimated population 
in 1894, 5,550,550. Area of Cuba, 43,124 sq. m. ; estimated 
population in 1894, 1,723,000. 

*75 



I7 6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

it is twice as densely populated as the State of 
Missouri,* or in about the same ratio as Vir- 
ginia.f 

Of the aboriginal inhabitants of Cuba, none 
survived to see the seventeenth century. 
The present population may be divided into 
five classes: 

1. Natives of Spain — " peninsulars." 

2. Cubans of Spanish descent — " insulars." 

3. Other white persons. 

4. Persons wholly, or in part, of the Afri- 
can race. 

5. Eastern Asiatics. 

We will begin by reckoning the first three 
classes together and excluding the fifth en- 
tirely — thus obtaining the usual division of 
whites and negroes. It has been customary 
to reckon among negroes persons having 
one-fourth, one-half, or three-fourths white 
blood; and on the principle of the civil 
law, stirps sequitur matrem, there is no end 
to the subdivision. This is philosophically 
unjust, and makes the negro element appear 

* State of Missouri: area 69,415 sq. m.; population 1,875,- 
900. 

f State of Virginia : area, 42,450 sq. m.; population, 1,705,- 
198. 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 



177 



larger than it really is. It is also to be 
remembered that the blood of the Latin 
nations mingles with that of other races 
more readily than does the Saxon. We will 
now give some statistics of the two main 
races at different dates, showing the percent- 
age of negroes: 



Year. 


White. 


Negro. 


Per Cent. 


1804 


234,000 


198,000 


45.8 


1819 


239» 8 30 


213,203 


47 




1830 


332,352 


423,343 


56 




1841 


418,291 


589,333 


58 


4 


1850 


479,490 


494,252 


50 


75 


i860 


632,797 


566,632 


47 




1869 


797,596 


602,215 


43 




1877 


9 8 5,325 


492,249 


33 




1887 


1,102,689 


485,187 


30 


55 



It is especially worthy of note that for 
30 or 40 years the negro element has been 
both relatively and absolutely decreasing, 
and probably at the present time it com- 
poses little more than one-fourth of the whole 
population. The ratio of the races in the 
city of Washington, by the census of 1890, 
was 67 per cent, to 33 per cent., so that' 
negroes are relatively more numerous in the 



17^ THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

capital of our own nation than they are in 
Cuba. 

The first negroes introduced into Cuba 
were, of course, slaves. African slavery had 
been known in the Spanish peninsula a con- 
siderable time before the discovery of 
America; and when Ovando was sent out as 
governor of Hispaniola in 1502, he was per- 
mitted to carry to the colony negro slaves, 
born in Seville and other parts of Spain, who 
had been instructed in the Christian re- 
ligion.* The recognized laws of Spain in 
regard to these people were not very se- 
vere. The slave was permitted to have his 
cabin and patch of ground, and certain hours 
were allowed him for its cultivation. There 
was always a prospect — possibly remote — of 
purchasing his freedom. The negroes were 
of both sexes, and the domestic relation was 
possible, and pretty generally respected. 
Besides, religion had a deep hold on the 
Spanish character; and the Gospel recog- 
nized no distinction on account of color. 
Still law, or profession, is one thing and fact 
another. Much depended upon the charac- 
ter of the slave-owner; and often quite as 

* Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. xii. p. 1376. 



rOLTTICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 



179 



much on his necessities as on his character. 
In any case a class of free negroes grew up, 
the relative numbers of which, at successive 
dates until the final abolition of slavery, are 
here shown: 



Year. 


Slaves. 


Free Negroes. 


i8ii 


212,000 


114,000 


1817 


225,268 


115,691 


1827 


286,942 


106,494 


1841 


436,495 


152,838 


1846 


323,759 


149,226 


1849 


323,897 


164,410 


i860 


' 367,37o 


207,735 


1867 


344,6i5 


248,703 


1869 


363,288 


238,927 


1877 


199,094 


272,478 


1879 


171,087 


287,827 


1887 


[none] 


485,187 



An act of gradual emancipation passed the 
Spanish Cortes in 1870; but slavery was 
finally and absolutely abolished in 1886. 

Of the white inhabitants of Cuba perhaps 
about one-fifth are natives of Spain; but that 
is merely an estimate. These " peninsulars " 
hold or control all offices of any value, civil, 
military, or ecclesiastical,* and so have all the 

* The Spanish Government has gone to considerable trouble 
to combat this idea; and a semi-official publication (Espafia y 
Cuba, Madrid, 1896 — see Bibliography, Appendix G) contains 



180 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

existing opportunities for earning legalized 
salaries or for obtaining money otherwise. 
As their voices can alone be heard, Cuba is 
authoritatively unanimous in favor of the 
continuance of the present rule. 

The number of white persons of other 
blood than Spanish is trifling, and has been 
estimated at 10,500. 

There is yet another class of the popula- 
tion — the coolies or Asiatic laborers imported 
from the Philippines. They began to attract 
the attention of the world when the philan- 
thropists of England were pressing for the 
abolition of the slave trade. Two ships from 
Amoy brought to Habana, in 1847, 679 
coolies, and from time to time more followed. 
The statements of their numbers are so con- 
flicting as to be a mere guess; but that guess 
would put them at 30,000 to 40,000. If a 

a list several pages in length of Cubans who hold or have held 
public office. A gentleman who is a specialist in Cuban gene- 
alogies, and is himself connected with a dozen or more of the 
leading families, has assured the author that the majority of 
these names are unknown to him, while a large percentage of 
the remainder represent the Cuban-born sons of "peninsu- 
lars" temporarily resident in Cuba. Students of English 
history will recall the device by which Edward II. came to be 
born a Welshman. 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 181 

rose does not lose its fragrance with its name, 
neither does slavery, by change of designa- 
tion, become more merciful, but rather less 
so. Slavery is of many degrees. As it ex- 
isted in Cuba and in the United States prior 
to 1861, the slave was assimilated to his mas- 
ter in language, religion, and local customs 
and traditions. He had the family relation, 
even if imperfectly maintained, and in a 
majority of cases was treated with considera- 
tion and humanity; but in coolie labor there 
are no ameliorating circumstances. Pushed 
to its extreme, as in the guano pits of Peru, 
it is the most execrable form of slavery that 
human avarice has ever devised. In 1844 
Great Britain endeavored to enforce a regula- 
tion that 12 per cent, of those introduced 
into her colonies should be women — but, if 
the decree could have been carried into effect, 
the resulting polyandry might have been even 
more brutalizing than the original condition. 
So the coolie remains for life an outcast and 
an alien, as if he had landed on the shores of 
another world, where he could never be 
naturalized. He is bound to work for a term 
of years for small pay; and at the expiration 
of his term, he must either leave the island, 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



which he is seldom able to do, or enter into 
such new contract as the employer may 
choose to propose. 

In connection with this subject it is impor- 
tant to observe that the leaders in the present 
revolutionary movement confidently assert 
that natives, of European descent, are capable 
of enduring any labor on the island that 
human beings ought to perform; and that 
they do now perform the most difficult and 
important kinds of heavy labor. 

The most recent official census is that of 
December, 1887. The figures in the follow- 
ing table are taken from it, and give the 
population by provinces, as well as the den- 
sity of population (number of inhabitants per 
sq. kilo.) in each: 



Provinces. 


Inhabitants. 


Square 
Kilome- 
ters. 


Density. 


Pinar del Rio 

Habana 


225,891 
451,928 
259,578 
354,122 
67,789 
272,379 


14,967 
8,610 
8,486 
23,083 
32,341 
35,H9 


15.09 
52.49 
30.59 
15.34 
2.10 
7.76 


Matanzas 


Santa Clara 

Puerto Principe 

Santiago de Cuba. . . . 


Totals 


1,631,687 


122,606 


1331 





POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 183 



GOVERNMENT. 

Cuba has enjoyed representation in the 
Spanish Cortes since the passage of the act 
of January 9, 1879. The province of Habana 
sends three senators to Madrid, and each of 
the other five provinces, two; the arch- 
bishopric of Santiago sends one, the Univer- 
sity of Habana sends one, and the Society of 
the Friends of the Country, one. Thirty 
deputies, allotted according to population, 
are sent to the House of Deputies. These 
are elected by popular ballot, in the ratio of 
one representative for every 50,000 inhab- 
itants. 

In view of what has been said already, it 
will be easily understood that the " peninsu- 
lars " and the Cuban Volunteers would have 
great influence in the elections— an influence 
always adverse to innovation. These con- 
servatives would be likely always to secure a 
majority. Indeed it is said that out of 30 
deputies elected this spring, 26 are natives of 
Spain. But were they representatives in 
fact as well as in law, still, on every question 
involving a conflict of interests, they would 



1 84 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

be in a hopeless minority — much worse situ- 
ated than the Irish members in the British 
parliament. At the very best they can only 
serve to make the wants of Cuba known — to 
exercise the right of petition. 

The present division of provinces and the 
corresponding scale of parliamentary repre- 
sentation are regulated by the decree of June 
9, 1878. These and the provincial assemblies 
are the chief of the great reforms promised 
and accorded at the close of the ten years' 
war. 

The military government has at its head a 
captain general {ipso facto governor general), 
and under him is an army usually of about 
13,000 troops sent from Spain, but paid out 
of the Cuban budget. He is assisted by a 
" second chief of the district " who is also 
sub-inspector general and governor of Ha- 
bana. Owing to the present disturbed state 
of the island this force has been increased 
more than ten-fold and the normal military 
subdivisions have been entirely rearranged. 

Although the decree of 1825 * was revoked 
about 1870, the captain general retains sub- 
stantially all that was thereby granted. He 

*See p. 101. 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 185 

is appointed by the Crown, usually for a term 
of three to five years; has the military rank 
of lieutenant general; and his full title is 
governor and captain general. He is the 
supreme head of the civil, ecclesiastical, mili- 
tary, and naval organizations in the island, 
and possesses practically the powers claimed 
by the Turkish Sultan. He is assisted by a 
council of administration, composed of 30 
members — a much vaunted reform of 1895.* 
The Crown appoints 15 of the members, and 
the other 15 are elected by the provinces, 
according to population; though, as elec- 
tions are controlled, there are likely to be 
among these latter always as many as 10 
peninsulars, or ultra-loyalists, so as to give 
the Government a safe majority of 25 to 5. 
To make that point sure, however, the gov- 
ernor general may at any time suspend mem- 
bers likely to give trouble, to the number of 
14; or, if the disagreement is too great, he 
may, after consulting the peculiar body called 
the " council of authorities," suspend them 
all, and go on without them. To reduce this 
elastic council to a do-nothing and mere air- 
cushion for- deadening blows, the members 

* Royal decree of March 15, 1895. 



1 86 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

serve without pay, yet are personally and 
pecuniarily responsible to those who may be 
injuriously affected by their votes. Thus, 
on every active movement, they are in dan- 
ger of vexatious and expensive suits for 
damages. It is this council that is especially 
relied on to give satisfaction to all parties. 
It is its duty to do a great many things, such 
as to prepare the budget, or estimate of 
receipts and expenditures to be submitted to 
the Cortes; and to pass resolutions (quasi 
acts) on all necessary public matters. It is 
then the duty of the governor general to give 
effect to these resolutions — if he likes them. 
If he does not, he suspends them, and takes 
his own course. It is his duty, however, to 
keep the Home Government advised of 
everything of importance, including differ- 
ences that may arise between himself and the 
council of administration. 

The council of authorities is made up of 
the Archbishop of Santiago (when present); 
the Bishop of Habana; the commanding 
officers of the army and navy; the chief jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court of Habana; the 
attorney general; the head of the depart- 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 187 

ment of finances; and the director of the local 
administration. They do not hold regular 
sessions, but are called together as occasion 
may require; their conclusions are submitted 
in writing, but have no binding effect. 

The heads of executive departments are 
distinct from these councils; but heads of 
departments may be, and are, members of the 
council of authorities. 

The administration in each province is con- 
ducted by a governor, appointed by the 
Crown, who is an officer of the army of the 
rank of major general or brigadier general, 
and is directly responsible to the governor 
general. There is also in each province an 
elective assembly of not less than 12 nor 
more than 20 members, according to popu- 
lation. They are elected for four years, 
and one-half the number are replaced every 
second year. The elections are held in the 
first half of September, and sessions twice a 
year. On meeting, the first business is to 
ballot for three candidates, from which list 
the captain general appoints one as speaker. 
He may, however, disregard the names pre- 
sented, and appoint any other member. 



1 88 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Moreover the governor of the province may, 
at his pleasure, preside and vote; and if at 
any time, in his judgment, the public interest 
demands it, he may prorogue the assembly 
and report his action to the governor general. 
The latter has further the authority to sus- 
pend any of the provincial assemblies and 
report the fact to the Government at Madrid. 
The provincial governor nominates five mem- 
bers of the assembly to be appointed by the 
governor general as a local council or cabinet. 
As, however, the powers and duties of the 
provincial governments are only equal to 
those of county boards in the United States, 
it is easily seen that the home rule accorded 
to Cuba has its limits. 

City governments are formed on the same 
general pattern as the provincial. The board 
of aldermen may consist of any number from 
5 to 30 inclusive, according to population. 
They elect one of their number as mayor; 
but the governor general may substitute any 
other member. 

The judicial system of Cuba includes two 
superior courts (audiencias), one sitting at 
Puerto Principe, for the two eastern prov- 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 1^9 

inces, and the other at Habana, for the four 
western provinces. Inferior to these is a 
network of judicial districts and local magis- 
tracies. 

But the judicial system becomes less 
important to the general reader when it is 
remembered that the governor general has 
authority under a decree of June 9, 1878, to 
overrule any decision of any court, and even 
to suspend the execution of any law or order 
emanating from the Government at Madrid. 

RELIGION. 

The Roman Catholic is the only religion 
tolerated. There are no Jewish or Protes- 
tant places of worship; and while a person 
who should comply with all other require- 
ments might be permitted to remain on the 
island, he would not be allowed to promul- 
gate doctrines at variance with those of the 
established church.* The island formerly 

* " No se permitiran otras ceremonias ni manifestaciones 
publicas que las de la religion del Estado 6 sea la catolica, 
apostolica romana." — Leyes de Imprenta, Reunion y Aso- 
ciacidn Vigentes en las Is/as de Cuba y Puerto Rico, Madrid, 
1892, p. 59. 



19° THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

constituted a single diocese, that of Santiago; 
but in 1788 the western part was formed into 
the diocese of Habana, and in 1804 the Bishop 
of Santiago de Cuba was elevated to the dig- 
nity of archbishop. The individual clergy are 
appointed and assigned by these prelates, the 
captain general taking no immediate part in 
the matter. 

Catholicism being a state religion, its 
maintenance is made a charge against the 
general revenues of the island, and all its 
items are determined at Madrid. The 
amount estimated in the Cuban budget of 
1893-94 is $385,588, the distribution of 
which fills 31 quarto pages of that document. 



EDUCATION. 

The educational system of Cuba is under 
the direction of the governor general and the 
rector of the University of Habana, the 
latter, as well as the former, being a native 
of Spain and appointed by the Crown. In 
1 72 1 a papal bull authorized the Order of 
Preaching Friars to establish, in the city of 
Habana, a university and confer academic 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 191 

degrees; and, with the concurrence of the 
King of Spain, seven years later, the Royal 
and Pontifical University was established in 
the convent of St. John Lateran. In that 
early age its purpose and studies were largely 
determined by the Church and the education 
required of the clergy; and down to 1841 the 
rectors, with three exceptions, belonged to 
the monastic orders. The local habitation 
was a monastery, or buildings erected for 
that purpose. The corner stone of the new 
university buildings was laid January 4, 1884. 
The pontifical part of the title has dropped 
out, and the institution is now known as The 
Royal University of Habana. The latest 
official report before us is for the year 
1 889—90. It was then divided into the five 
departments of Philosophy and Letters, 
Medicine, Pharmacy, Law, and Science. The 
faculty was made up of 86 professors, includ- 
ing assistant professors, and the number of 
students who entered for the year was 1046. 

There is also a collegiate institute in each 
of the six provinces, empowered to confer 
the degree of bachelor or licentiate. 

The numbers of students in these were: 



192 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



Habana, . 


. 1,752 


Matanzas, . 


268 


Puerto Principe, . 


H4 


Santa Clara, . 


345 


Pinar del Rio, 


145 


Santiago de Cuba, 


255 


Total, . . . * . 


2,909 



Then too there is the Professional School 
of the Industrial Arts with 53 students, and 
the Habana School of Painting and Sculp- 
ture with 454. An American would be likely 
to notice the disparity in numbers between 
the votaries of the fine and those of the in- 
dustrial arts. 

In the year above referred to, the children 
who attended the public or municipal 
schools were: 



Habana 


. 14724 


Pinar del Rio, 


• 3.565 


Matanzas, . 


• 5.3*7 


Puerto Principe, . 


. 1,542 


Santa Clara, . 


. 6,917 


Santiago de Cuba, 


. 6,031 


Total, . 


. 38,106 



The children attending the common 
schools would thus be at the rate of 1 to 45 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 



193 



of the population; or, if the students in the 
higher institutions be included, the persons 
receiving instruction outside of institutions 
of private benevolence, of which there are 
a considerable number, would be 1 to 40. 

The amount estimated for educational 
purposes was (Budget for 1893—94) $137,- 
760, no part of which was in aid of any grade 
of common schools. 

The approximate ratio of school and col- 
lege attendance, of all grades and kinds, for 
the year 1891—92 is here shown for several 
countries, that for Spain, however, being no 
later than 1885: 
United States : 



North Atlantic Di 


vision, 




1 to 4.1 


South " 


' 




1 " 8. 


North Central ' 


< 




1 " 4.3 


South " 


' 




1 " 4.8 


Western 


' 




1 " 4.38 


Canada, . 






1 " 5- 


United Kingdom, 






1 " 5-37 


France, . 






1 " 5-5 


Italy, 






1 " 9.8 


Spain, 






1 " 9. 


Jamaica, . 






1 " 7.7 


Cuba, 






1. " 40. 



Education was made compulsory by a law 
of 1880; but that again is an instance of the 



194 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

difference between law and fact. The law is 
nugatory where there is not the ability and 
the disposition to provide schoolhouses and 
teachers. 

CENSORSHIP.* 

The publication of anything offensive or 
disrespectful toward the sovereign or his Gov- 
ernment, or having a tendency toward a 
change of government, is an offense punish- 
able by a fine and imprisonment. There are 
many varieties and degrees; and much is 
necessarily left to the discretion and feeling of 
the courts. To insure immunity, the law 
imposes upon editors, publishers, etc., very 
stringent requirements, the neglect or im- 
perfect performance of which is in turn a 
penal offense. 

Every person preparing to start a periodi- 
cal, must, at least four days before the date 
of its first number, file with the governor of 
his province or the mayor of his town, a 
declaration of his intention. This declara- 
tion must show: 

* See Leyes de Imprenta, ReuniSn y Asociacidn Vigentes en 
las Islas de Cuba y Puerto Rico, Madrid, Centro Editorial 
de Gongora, 1892. 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 195 

1. The full title of the periodical and the days of pub- 
lication. 

2. The full names, titles, and places of residence of the 
manager, the editor, and the printer; and the assurance 
that neither is under any civil or political disability. The 
same person may hold two or all of these positions. 

3. The name and location of the printing office, 
and evidence that it is not in arrear for taxes of any 
kind. 

4. When a company is the proprietor, the declaration 
shall be made by the chief member, who shall furnish 
evidence that it has been legally organized. 

5. In case of changes, all these items of record must be 
kept up to date, under penalty. 

The performance of the foregoing will not 
exempt other persons who may be implicated 
[e. g., as authors or contributors] in publish- 
ing objectionable articles. 

Three copies of every issue must be pre- 
sented to the governor or mayor, who 
stamps and returns one, retains one, and sends 
one to the district attorney to search for 
seditious matter. In Habana a similar set 
of three must also be sent to the office of the 
captain general. 

Anonymous publications, however inno- 
cent, are not permitted. Everything must 
show on its face, title, author, and place 
of publication. 



I9 6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

Of pamphlets, as of periodicals, three 
copies must be submitted to the Govern- 
ment. 

Full authority to allow or prohibit pic- 
torial illustrations is vested in the governor 
general. — Law of November n, 1886. 

A law of June 12, 1888, regulates with 
much minuteness the formation, manage- 
ment, and governmental control of voluntary 
associations. Such societies are usually 
formed for mutual aid and relief, instruction, 
or entertainment; and the effect of the law 
can best be shown by following an outline of 
the steps pursued by an ideal society, Los 
Buenos Amigos de Manzanillo. Its objects 
are to pay a weekly allowance to its sick mem- 
bers, and hold meetings for business, sociality, 
music, and poetic recitations. Everything 
being prepared, the originators submit to the 
governor of the province documents in du- 
plicate, signed by them and exhibiting the 
exact title and purposes of the association, 
copies of its constitution and by-laws, its 
place of meeting, its sources of income, the 
character of its expenditures, and the final 
disposition of its assets in case of dissolution. 
One copy of these papers is stamped and re- 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 197 

turned, and the other is kept by the governor 
to be examined by his legal adviser. A 
meeting, organization, and election of offi- 
cers are then held and duly reported to the 
governor. A notice of each meeting is given 
24 hours in advance to the governor, so that 
he may be present, if he choose, either in 
person or by deputy. He often does either 
the one or the other. On one occasion he 
breaks up the assembly, and forbids any 
further meetings because one of the pieces 
sung seems to him to have allusions that 
savored of revolution. He is obliged, how- 
ever, to submit his objection to the superior 
court of the district; and twenty days later, 
that tribunal decides that there is no 
sufficient ground for dissolving the society; 
and it goes on. On another occasion the 
governor's proxy breaks up a meeting be- 
cause there are invited guests present, who 
are not members. His action is sustained by 
the court. 

Every time that there is a change of the 
place of meeting, of any of the officers or of 
any of the by-laws, the ceremony of notifying 
the authorities has to be repeated. 

Even a private reception of a social nature 



I9 8 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

cannot lawfully be held without first obtain- 
ing a permit. 

TRADE AND FINANCE. 

Circumstances already presented have 
led to a system of heavy taxation in Cuba. 
This is denied by the zealous defenders of 
Spain; and to verify it would require a 
thorough exhibition of the revenue systems 
that apply to Cuba and to half a dozen other 
countries, which obviously cannot be given 
here.* A few illustrations, however, may be 
offered. 

Cuba and Jamaica are islands, having 
nearly the same situation, climate, and pro- 
ductions. Nature has not suggested any 
difference in their political treatment. The 
tariff schedules of import duties of the two 
islands lie before us as we write. That of 
Jamaica is comprised in 3 printed pages; 
the Cuban tariff covers 42, which at least sug- 
gests a difference in complexity. The larger 
document contains 417 dutiable articles or 
classes; the smaller 63 articles, or classes, 

* Those who desire precise information on the subject are 
referred to the Bulletins Intemationaux de Douanes, issued by 
F. Hayez, 112 Rue de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL, 



199 



dutiable, and 106 free. The rates of duty 
cannot always be compared, as when articles 
are reckoned by the yard in one country and 
by the pound in the other. The following- 
articles are selected from those that admit 
of comparison, as being fairly representative: 



Building stone, per ton 

Marble, per cwt 7 

Coal-, per ton 

Salt, per barrel 

Petroleum, per gallon 

Iron castings, per cwt 

Tiles, per cwt 

Butter, per pound 

Cheese, per pound 

Gunpowder, per pound 

Writing paper, per pound 

Books, per pound 

Agricultural machinery and imple- 
ments, per cwt 

Horses, common , each 

Cows, each 

Calves, each 

Pianos, each 

Carriages, not specially designated, each 

Steam machinery, per cwt 

Ships", wooden, per registered tonnage, 
per ton 



Cuba. 



Jamaica. 



$10.50 


% .00 


2.00 


.00 


.75 


.00 


10.00 


2.70 


.14 


.12* 


1. 00 


.00 


.81 


.00 


.07^ 


.00 


.Hi 


.02 


.60 


.24 


.07 


.00 


•07| 


.00 


113 


.00 


45.00 


.00 


I4.OO 


.00 


IO.OO 


.00 


82.OO 


• I2i % 


I98.OO 


.I2i % 


3.18 


.00 


J6.80 


.00 


{ 8.80 


.00 



What should equally surprise the general 
reader is that, of the 417 classes of articles, 



200 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



254 pay higher duties in Cuba than in the 
sister isle of Puerto Rico and none pay lower. 
That has resulted from the bad habit of 
pledging the revenues of Cuba for the debts 
incurred by Spain. In comparing these, 
since the standards of measure and value are 
the same, the illustration will not be im- 
paired by regarding the kilo as a mere alge- 
braic x : 



Building stone, per ton 

Coal, per ton 

Fine earthenware, per 100 kilo 

Steel, fine, in bars, per 100 kilo 

Iron, in bars, per 100 kilo 

Tin plate, per 100 kilo 

Articles made of zinc, per 100 kilo. . . 

Varnishes, per 100 kilo 

Osnaburgs, ducks, canvas, per 100 kilo. 

Linen, fine, per kilo 

Carpets, cut brussels, per kilo 

Flannel, all wool, per kilo 

Hosiery, per kilo 

Furniture, parlor, fine, per kilo 

Horses, common, each 

Mules, each 

Cows, each 

Boots, fine, per dozen 

Steam boilers and motors, per 100 kilo. 

Machinery, per 100 kilo 

Pork, per 100 kilo 



Cuba. 


Puerto 
Rico. 


$10.50 


$ 5.00 


• 75 


•37 


9.20 


4.60 


6.00 


300 


1.25 


• 75 


5.00 


2.50 


40.00 


20.00 


19.00 


9-50 


23.60 


12.00 


3-4o 


1.70 


• 71 


.40 


1.32 


.70 


3.02 


i-55 ' 


1.40 


•95 


45.00 


23.00 


37.00 


22.00 


14.00 


9.00 


9.90 


5.00 


6.00 


3.00 


Q.50 


5.10 


10.00 


5 00 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 



20I 



Duties on imports, however, are not the 
only form in which revenue can be raised; and 
Spanish necessity has stimulated ingenuity to 
find things that could be taxed. The follow- 
ing are the estimated sources and amounts 
of income relied upon by the Cuban budgets 
(Presupuestos generates de gastos e ingresos 
de la Is la de Cuba) for the fiscal years 
1893-94 and 1895-96. 





1893-94. 


1895-96. 


Tax on real estate 


$ 1,711,000 

9,620,000 

1,220,000 

535,ooo 

240,000 

2,580,000 
1,680,000 

2,174,660 

3,104,000 

399,000 

i,377, 100 


$ 1,711,000 




9,620,000 
1,220,000 


Export duties 


Port dues 


460,000 


Ten per ct. tax on passenger fares. 

Excise on liquors, sugar,* tobacco, 

and petroleum , 


240,000 
2,130,000 


Tax on trades and professions. . . 

Stamp tax (including postage and 

telegraph) 


1,680,000 
2,174,660 




3,104,000 


Rents and sales of public property, 


399,000 
2,017,100 






Total 


$24,640,760 


$24,755,760 







The expenditures were estimated as fol- 
lows: 

* Excise on "sugar abolished by law of February 20, 1895. 



202 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



Interest on the public debt 

Salaries and expenses of the Colo- 
nial Ministry at Madrid 

Regular army 

Navy 

Military and naval pensions and 
retired pay 

Civil pensions and retired pay. . . 

Judiciary 

Religious establishment 

Volunteers 

Treasury department 

Police force 

Executive government, omitting 
police 

Department of the Interior 

Other expenditures 

Total 



1893-94. 



$10,435,183 

155,125 
4,128,616 
1,055,136 

1,746,829 
442,223 
317,595 
385,583 

1,768,125 
708,125 

2,664,923 

I,37i,i65 

771,125 

87,636 



$26,037,389 



1895-96. 



$10,435,183 

158,855 
4,128,616 
1,055,136 

1,746,829 
442,223 
317,595 
385,583 

1,768,125 
708,125 

2,664,923 

1,414,665 

778,625 
88,761 



$26,093,244 



Here note the following points: 

1. The peso, as compared with the American dollar, is 
worth only ninety-six cents. 

2. The first six items of expenditure, aggregating 
about $18,000,000, arise from the dependence upon 
Spain, and are such as British colonies do not have to 
pay.* 



* It is perhaps not generally known to the public that, from 
the income derived from the Island of Cuba, a fund of $20,000 
per annum is set aside " for the secret expenses of the legation 
at Washington and consulates in the United States," and so 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. $0$ 

3. The estimates do not include the notorious pecula- 
tions, an unknown amount, but possibly $10,000,000 
more. 

4. The levies and appropriations are not made by a 
Cuban legislature, but everything, down to the salary of 
the lowest parish priest, is determined at Madrid. 

Cuban statistics (always to be taken as 
approximations) placed the exports between 
70 and 71 millions of dollars for the year 
1890. The following table (from the Diario 
de la Marina, December 9, 1893) shows the 
countries to which the exports were sent, and 
the amount, and the percentage of the whole, 
taken by each. There is reason to believe 
that the total exports have been greater 
since the date indicated, as the average ex- 
ports to the United States during the five 
years which ended June 30, 1895, were 
$66,389,016. During the same period the 
exports from the United States to Cuba 
averaged only $17,141,922. 

provided in the annual budget. (See Presupuestos generates 
de gastos 4 ' ingresos de la I. de Cuba for 1895-96, section 6, 
chapter xvi., p. 30.) 



204 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



Cuban Exports in 1890. 





Amount. 


Per Cent. 


To the United States, . 


$58,557,641 


82.933 


" " Spanish Peninsula, . 


8,I2I,8l4 


II.502 


11 British America, 


995,890 


1. 4IO 


" France, .... 


733,851 


I.039 


" Germany, 


657,068 


.930 


" Great Britain, . 


394,6l6 


•549 


" Puerto Rico, 


269,191 


.381 


" Colombia, 


258,008 


.365 


" Mexico, . . . , 


2 1 1 ,902 


.301 


" Uruguay, . . ' . 


159,522 


.226 


" the Canary Islands, 


91,773 


.129 


'* Haiti 


33,274 


.047 


" Venezuela, 


32,768 


.047 


" Costa Rica, 


27,497 


.039 


" All other countries, . 


64,138 


.092 


Total 


. $70,608,953 


IOO. 



By far the greatest part of the export 
trade has been of sugar, which has had to 
labor under the twofold disadvantage of 
heavy taxation at home and severe compe- 
tition from beet sugar abroad. 



CUBA AS A NEIGHBOR AND A CUSTOMER. 

Countries, like families or towns, may be 
neighbors, with ample opportunities either 
to render acts of courtesy and kindness, or 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 205 

to cause annoyance. The latter has been the 
part of Cuba. 

It seems proper here to make a remark or 
two upon law in general, and the law of 
nations in particular. Law, however brought 
about, is a compromise, whereby people 
delegate, to a power or organization called a 
government, a part of their rights, the better 
to preserve the remainder, and have leisure 
left to attend to their affairs. The govern- 
ment has, or ought to have, power to over- 
come all resistance to the performance of its 
delegated trusts. Law is conservative, that 
is, inclined to regard the thoughts and facts 
of yesterday rather than those of to-day; and, 
in treasuring up the wisdom of past ages, it 
is apt to preserve some of their follies. 

International law has the failings of mu- 
nicipal law without its principal advantage. 
Its terms are vague, involving questions of 
less or more — of quantity or degree — and the 
quantity or degree is not measurable. Every 
nation is the judge of its own honor and 
safety; that is to say, in most cases the liti- 
gants are also the judges. As in the question 
between Job and the Deity, there is no 
davsman to lay his hand upon them both. 



206 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

International law is like a tacit understand- 
ing among a company of hunters or gamblers 
as to what may and what may not be done. 
If two disagree, their last resort is to fight. 
The others may counsel peace; they cannot 
compel it. 

If these considerations be just, the force of 
arguments based upon the law of nations is 
often more apparent than real. There is no 
difference in principle between the rights of 
a man and the rights of a nation. Each has 
a perfect right to live and improve his or its 
condition until he or it infringes the equal 
right of some other. From that point the 
right begins to diminish until it may cease 
altogether. " Sacred " and " inalienable " 
rights belong to the domain of poetry and 
rhetoric rather than science. There is per- 
haps no more sacred right than that of a 
father to the custody and obedience of his 
child; but if he fail to maintain and teach the 
child, if he treat it cruelly, overtax its powers, 
and bring it up to be a menace to the peace 
of society, his right ceases. It is an old legal 
maxim that a man's house is his castle, where 
no one has a right to intrude; but if he be 
committing a murder, or other felony, therein, 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 207 

the police may break into his castle and stop 
him. Nay, may not anyone do so? 

Applying these considerations to the case 
of Cuba, the American people will have to 
reach the conclusion that Spain's right to the 
island cannot be greater than her ability and 
willingness to govern it according to modern 
civilization. It is scarcely an extravagance 
to say that for 40 years Spain has kept a dis- 
orderly house at our very door. It is not 
sufficient to reply, as a Cuban governor once 
said in substance, " If you don't like my 
establishment, keep your young men at 
home." That would not avail in a police 
court. We object to the temptation. Nor 
is it any answer to allege that it is intruders 
from abroad who are continually disturbing 
the peace of the island. All the principal 
movers are refugees, who have been driven 
out of Cuba and seek to return. So far from 
being a justification, these people are a great 
part of the wrong. And be it remembered, 
there is no similar class of fugitives from the 
surrounding islands or mainland. 

The cases of the Black Warrior and Vir- 
ginms, already related, illustrate the annoy- 
ance given to American shipping; and 



208 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

numbers of vessels have been fired upon, 
stopped on the open seas, searched, or 
seized.* Then there are arrests of American 
citizens and embargoes on their property. 
An executive document, before us as we 
write, contains the names of 66 American 
citizens executed without due trial during 
the ten years' war. There are also fines, 
delays, and restrictions on business that are 
without excuse. A case is related by Ed- 
ward Everett, Secretary of State, in a letter 
to the Comte de Sartiges, December i, 1852, 
in which the captain general refused to let the 
passengers and mail be landed from an Ameri- 
can steamer because it had been reported 
(falsely) that the purser had, in a foreign 
country, published something that was con- 
sidered offensive. Rules are made that are 
minute, burdensome, and vexatious, and arbi- 
trary fines imposed for their infraction. 
Fines have been imposed for not calling 
hoops, " wooden hoops," and for not describ- 

* There were, in particular, the three whaling vessels, Ellen 
Rizpah, Rising Sun, and Edward Lee, fired upon and stopped 
in 1877. At this present writing the Competitor and all on 
board are held under circumstances similar to those of the 
Virginius. 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 209 

ing nails as " iron nails." * When these vex- 
ations are small, they have to be allowed to 
pass; when very grave they lead to diplo- 
matic correspondence at a range of 3000 
miles, which may last for years before any 
redress can be obtained. It may be con- 
cluded then that, under existing circum- 
stances, Cuba is a bad neighbor. 

We will next advert to one feature of our 
trade with Cuba. We are far from cherish- 
ing any superstitious reverence for either 
gold or silver or any other special expression 
of value; but thus far money in some form is 1 
an indispensable convenience in carrying on 
trade. As between two countries, if country 
A buys largely of country B, and pays cash, 
while B will buy nothing from A, there is a 
general feeling that the last named is working 
under a disadvantage, having to carry its- 
products somewhere else to obtain money to 
pay B. If, however, A has mines of gold or 
silver, those metals are to that extent one of 
its normal products. Otherwise, the general 
quest is not to find people willing to sell their 
own products, but people who will buy ours. 
In most cases there is exchange of commodi- 

* Atlantic Monthly for July, 1879, P- 8 4- 



210 



THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 



ties, with a balance on the one side or the 
other, and we generally strive to have to pay 
as small a balance as possible. 

Let us see how the case stands between us 
and the countries most nearly in the same 
situation with Cuba. The figures are for five 
years ending June 30, 1895, from the report 
on " The Foreign Commerce and Navigation 
of the United States " compiled by the 
Bureau of Statistics, 1896. We shall, merely 
for brevity of distinction, call the excess of 
our imports from any country over our ex- 
ports " loss," and the opposite balance, 
"gain": 

British West Indies : 

Imports, $67,556,530 



Exports, 

Loss, 
French West Indies . 
Exports, 
Imports, 

Gain, 
Vanish West Indies , 
Exports, 
Imports, 



42,230,435 

$25,326,095 

$9,146,563 
107,606 

$9,038,857 

$2,932,927 
1,949,830 



Gain, 



$983,097 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 21 1 

Dutch West Indies : 

Exports, $3,413,262 

Imports, 713,252 

Gain, $2,700,010 

Haiti : 

Exports, $27,551,472 

Imports, 10,768,789 

Gain, . . . . . $16,782,683 

Santo Domingo : 

Imports $11,015,858 

Exports, 6,316,349 

Loss, $4,699,509 

Puei'to Rico : 

Imports, $15,062,886 

Exports, 12,125,896 

Loss, $2,936,990 

Cuba : 

Imports, $346,902,092 

Exports, 87,269,138 

Loss, $259,632,954 

The shipments of gold to Cuba during the 
same time were $87,544,830; of silver, $298,- 
256. The remainder must have been settled 
indirectly; in other ways. 



212 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

At the same time the trade of Spain with 
Cuba, regulated by differential duties, showed 
quite different results. Spanish official sta- 
tistics for the year ending June 30, 1894, give 
the following: 

Spanish exports to Cuba, . . $23,412,376 
Spanish imports from Cuba, . 7,528,622 



Difference, .... $15,883,754 

This balance would, for five years, amount 
to $79,418,770. At least the greater part of 
this went, or ought to have gone, to re- 
munerate Spanish labor, while the similar 
toilers of America were out of pocket nearly 
$260,000,000. It would really seem that, 
under the existing state of things, Cuba is 
not much better as a customer than as a 
neighbor. 

Again, Spain does not treat Puerto Rico 
as she does Cuba: 



Spanish exports to Puerto Rico, . $5,735779 
Spanish imports from Puerto Rico, 4,316,025 



Difference, . $1,419,754 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 213 



CONCLUSION. 

The reader who, with exemplary patience, 
has accompanied us thus far, would no doubt 
be glad to get some idea as to the final out- 
come of it all. But to foresee that outcome 
would require the gift of prophecy, not 
granted to mortal men in these ages, and 
whatever we say can be only an expression 
of individual opinion. Several points may 
be put in the form of questions with partial 
answers : 

1. Are the revolutionists in Cuba entitled to 
the rights of belligerents? 

So far as that is a question of international 
law, its discussion would be too lengthy to 
be allowed space here.* So far as it relates 
to their being a nation, and entitled to recog- 
nition as such, in the sense in which Belgium, 
Denmark, and Portugal are nations, it is evi- 
dent that they are not, but are more like 
outlaws in the woods and mountains. The 
countries named have completely organized 
governments, elaborate codes of law and 
courts for their administration, public rec- 

* See Appendix F, 



214 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ords, and systems of revenue and expendi- 
ture. Their governments exercise control 
over well-defined territories and all the cities, 
institutions, persons, and property within 
their borders. They are obeyed, with 
scarcely a dissenting voice. They have civil, 
military, and naval forces, to overcome any 
possible resistance, and to protect life and 
property; and they are known and recog- 
nized of all men. The revolutionists in Cuba 
have scarcely a vestige of these attributes. 

2. Will the Cuban revolutionists succeed? 

One who asks such a question usually 
leaves something unexpressed — that some- 
thing being: " if all the conditions remain the 
same." They are not likely to remain the 
same five or ten years. But if they should, 
while Spain patrols the coast with a large 
fleet, and keeps a regular and well-equipped 
army of 130,000 men in the field and a home 
guard of 50,000, it does not seem possible for 
the insurgents to take and hold any con- 
siderable city. Still, very similar difficulties 
were repeatedly overcome by the Spanish- 
American revolutionists, even when they 
seemed utterly annihilated, or were driven 
into unseen hiding places, or even out of their 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 215 

respective countries — as in the case of Gen- 
eral O'Higgins after his defeat at Rancagua 

3. Will Spain succeed in suppressing the 
insurrection? 

Her prospect is not bright. Insurrection 
is somewhat a matter of climate. Where 
human life is possible with little food, less 
clothing, and scarce any shelter; where an 
enemy can melt into air in one place and 
materialize the next day in another; when he 
can disappear into caves or impenetrable 
jungles, whose paths he alone knows, or 
ascend mountain heights that can be de- 
fended by half a dozen men, such a war may 
be carried on indefinitely. This is why revo- 
lutions are so often attempted in the coun- 
tries south of us — seldom successful, yet 
almost impossible to suppress. A few 
examples are instructive, of which the Ma- 
roon war in Jamaica is probably the best. 
When Jamaica was acquired by the Eng- 
lish in 1655, a number of negro slaves 
of the former French colonists refused to 
submit to their new masters, and betook 
themselves to the wilderness. There they 
maintained a wild, predatory independence 
74 years, until hostilities were terminated by 



2l6 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

a treaty* that distinctly recognized their 
autonomy. 

The Maroons of Guiana and the Araucans 
of Chile have never been subdued. 

4. Are the disputants likely to come to a 
peaceful settlement? 

It would seem as if one or the other must 
be considerably weakened before consenting 
to a real settlement; so irreconcilable are the 
rival interests and claims. The revolu- 
tionists aim at complete independence; 
probably not at annexation to the United 
States. Spain might consent to many 
changes in the form, but to none in the sub- 
stance of her governmental machinery. The 
substance of that rule is absolute control, as 
much revenue as can be collected, a pasture- 
ground for needy " peninsulars," and differ- 
ential duties to favor Spanish industries. 

5. What changes of circumstances may be 
expected? 

It would be rash to conjecture the moves 
that may be made on the chess-board of 
nations within the next five or ten years. 
One of the least surprising results would be 
the failure of Spain's resources. It is fine to 

* See Appendix E. 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 217 

talk of spending the last man and the last 
dollar rather than lose; but it is quite pos- 
sible to spend the last dollar, without which 
the last man is of little avail, and still lose. 
And as to the creditors, it is not to their 
interest that the struggle should be a pro- 
tracted one, with Spain getting every year 
weaker. 

6. Would not a free Cuba become a second 
Haiti with its horrors ? 

The African element, supposed to be the 
one that is feared, is proportionally about 
one-third as great in Cuba as in the sister isle, 
and has long been decreasing. If, as it 
seems, the colored people there be similar to 
those in the United States, there is nothing 
to be feared from them. The conduct of the 
American negroes during the Civil War and 
since emancipation has been such that the 
friend of man may point to it with gratifica- 
tion for ages yet to come. If reference be 
had to the excesses committed in Haiti from 
1 791 to 1820, it is to be remembered that the 
initiative in falsehood, treachery, and cruelty 
was given by the Europeans, and that man- 
kind generally are more humane now than 
they were a century ago. The greatest dan- 



218 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ger to a free Cuba would be in the rivalries of 
ambitious leaders. 

7. What is the chief interest of the United 
States in the matter? 

To have a peaceful, well-behaved neigh- 
bor, and a fair, honest customer. Cuba would 
be a less valuable acquisition now than was 
once supposed. If it became a State, Terri- 
tory, or dependency of the Union, the sugar 
production of Louisiana would be prostrated 
at a blow, because the season for maturing 
cane is two months longer on the island than 
in the State. On the other hand a market 
would be opened for manufactured goods and 
the employment of capital, and the greatest 
provocative to foreign collision would be 
removed. Again, we ought to hesitate be- 
fore becoming responsible for the actions of a 
people whose qualifications for good citizen- 
ship have not yet been fairly proved. 
Neither the Government nor any great num- 
ber of the thinking people of the United 
States wish to acquire or disturb Cuba in any 
way, if it would cease to be a public nuisance. 
He who will read the Presidential messages, 
and the diplomatic correspondence of the 
Sta^e Department, will see that our public 



POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL. 219 

men have borne themselves with a modera- 
tion and long-suffering patience that is a 
pattern for men and angels. It is greatly to 
be regretted that those abroad who influence 
public opinion sometimes represent that we 
do not mean what we say, that our object 
through all is to manufacture electioneering 
capital. Nothing could be more incorrect. 
Our domestic and foreign affairs are as dis- 
tinct as an honest man keeps his personal and 
his trust funds. Outside our boundaries we 
know no parties, but are, in the words of one 
who will be remembered, " Americans all." 



APPENDIX A. 

EFFECT OF THE INFLUX OF THE PRECIOUS 

METALS. 

But if this is true, America was from another 
point of view highly detrimental to our material 
interests, annihilating the national industry and 
commerce, through the want of wise direction, 
and rendering us poor in the midst of abun- 
dance. The Spaniards, believing that a nation is 
rich in proportion to the amount of the precious 
metals it possesses, applied restrictive legislation 
to gold and silver, and by preventing them from 
leaving the country reduced their" value as a 
medium of exchange, while everything rose in 
price. Industrial activity ceased in Spain; agri- 
culture and commerce were abandoned; the only 
ambition was for the acquisition of the precious 
metals, and it did not occur to anyone that the 
products of the arts and of agriculture could be 
converted into money by exchange. The result 
was that whereas a million pounds of silk had 
been produced by some 6000 spindles in Granada 
at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the 
output was only 200,000 at the middle of the 
seventeenth; and that Toledo, in 12 years from 
1663 to 1675, lost 8161 looms out of 15,000, 
which formerly supported 130,000 operatives. 



22 2 THE ISLAND OF CUBA, 

At the same time foreigners, stimulated by the 
prospect of the precious metals of Spain, were 
developing their industries with prodigious 
rapidity, sending us their products either through 
the customhouse or by smuggling. Added to 
these were the franchises granted to their citi- 
zens by Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Holland; and 
our industries, not being able to produce any- 
thing at the same price and equal in quality, 
kept falling behind. The trade with the colonies 
might have been capable of maintaining the 
economic prosperity of Spain, but, subjected to 
an unwise system, it too yielded no beneficial 
results. Consequently the great cargoes of gold 
and silver that came were for the benefit of the 
foreigner, verifying the saying that the treasures 
of America formed a copious river which passed 
over a single aqueduct, and that aqueduct was 
Spain. If we desire to satisfy ourselves on this 
point, we may bear in mind that the metallic 
circulation of Europe before the discovery of 
America did not exceed $850,000,000, according 
to Jacob. The stock of the metals drawn from 
the new world in the first century amounted to 
3,500,000,000 and to 8,500,000,000 in the second. 
This increase of money, without counting the 
precious metals that came indirectly as jewelry, 
reached Spain, and supplied the want of our do- 
mestic products, which we then began to procure 
outside of the kingdom instead of producing 
them at home. — Orodca, Historia dc Espana," 
2a edition, Valladolid, 1869, pp. 296—97. 



APPENDIX B. 

MR. FISH TO MR. CUSHING. 

No. 266. Department of State, 

Washington, November 5, 1875. 

While remembering and observing the duties 
which this Government, as one of the family 
of nations, owes to another member, by public 
law, treaties, or the particular statutes of the 
United States, it would be idle to attempt to con- 
ceal the interest and sympathy with which 
Americans in the United States regard any 
attempt of a numerous people on this continent 
to be relieved of ties which hold them in the 
position of colonial subjection to a distant power, 
and to assume the independence and right of 
self-control which natural rights and the spirit 
of the age accord to them. 

When, moreover, this struggle, in progress 
on our very borders, from its commencement 
has involved the property and interests of citi- 
zens of the United States, has disturbed our 
tranquillity and commerce, has called upon us 
not infrequently to witness barbarous violations 
of the rules of civilized warfare, and compelled 
223 



224 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

us for the sake of humanity to raise our voice by- 
way of protest; and when, more than all, we see 
in the contest the final struggle in this hemi- 
sphere between slavery and freedom, it would be 
strange indeed if the Government and people of 
this country failed at any time to take peculiar 
interest in the termination of such contest. 

In this early instruction was expressed the 
sincere and unselfish hope of the President that 
the Government of Spain would seek some 
honorable and satisfactory adjustment, based 
upon emancipation and self-government, which 
would restore peace and afford a prospect of a 
return of prosperity to Cuba. 

Almost two years have passed since those in- 
structions were issued and those strong hopes 
expressed, and it would appear that the situa- 
tion has in no respect improved. 

The horrors of war have in no perceptible 
measure abated; the inconveniences and injuries 
which we then suffered have remained, and 
others have been added; the ravages of war 
have touched new parts of the island, and well- 
nigh ruined its financial and agricultural system 
and its relations to the commerce of the world. 
No effective steps have been taken to establish 
reforms or remedy abuses, and the effort to 
suppress the insurrection by force alone has 
been a complete failure. 

In the mean time the material interests of 
trade and of commerce are impaired to a degree 
which calls for remonstrance, if not for another 



APPENDIX B. 225 

line of conduct, on the part of all commercial 
nations. 

Whether it be from the severity and inhu- 
manity with which the effort has been made to 
suppress the insurrection, and from a supposed 
justification of retaliation for violations of the 
rules of civilized warfare by other violations and 
by acts of barbarism, of incendiarism, and out- 
rage, the world is witnessing on the part of the 
insurgents, whom Spain still claims as subjects, 
and for whose acts, if subjects, Spain must be 
held accountable in the judgment of the world, 
a warfare, not of the legitimate strife of relative 
force and strength, but of pillage and incendi- 
arism, the burning of estates and of sugar mills, 
the destruction of the means of production and 
of the wealth of the island. 

The United States purchases more largely 
than any other people of the productions of the 
island of Cuba, and therefore, more than any 
other for this reason, and still more by reason of 
its immediate neighborhood, is interested in the 
arrest of a system of wanton destruction which 
disgraces the age and affects every commercial 
people on the face of the globe. 

Under these circumstances, and in view of 
the fact that Spain has rejected all suggestions 
of reform or offers of mediation made by this 
Government, and has refused all measures look- 
ing to a reconciliation, except on terms which 
make reconciliation an impossibility, the diffi- 
culty of the situation becomes increased. 



226 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

When, however, in addition to these general 
causes of difficulty, we find the Spanish Govern- 
ment neglectful also of the obligations of 
treaties and solemn compacts, and unwilling to 
afford any redress for long-continued and well- 
founded wrongs suffered by our citizens, it be- 
comes a serious question how long such a 
condition of things can or should be allowed to 
exist, and compels us to inquire whether the 
point has not been reached where longer endur- 
ance ceases to be possible. 

During all this time, and under these aggra- 
vated circumstances, this Government has not 
failed to perform her obligations to Spain as 
scrupulously as toward other nations. 

In fact, it might be said that we have not only 
been long-suffering, because of the embarass- 
ments surrounding the Spanish Government, 
but particularly careful to give no occasion for 
complaint for the same reason. 

I regret to say that the authorities of Spain 
have not at all times appreciated our intentions 
or our purposes in these respects, and, while 
insisting that a state of war does not exist in 
Cuba and that no rights as belligerents should 
be accorded to the insurrectionists, have at the 
same time demanded for themselves all the 
rights and privileges which flow from actual 
and acknowledged war. 

It will be apparent that such a state of things 
cannot continue. It is absolutely necessary to 
the maintenance of our relations with Spain, 



APPENDIX B. 227 

even on their present footing, that our just de- 
mands for the return to citizens of the United 
States of their estates in Cuba, unincumbered, 
and for securing to them a trial for offenses 
according to treaty provisions, and all other 
rights guaranteed by treaty and by public law, 
should be complied with. 

Whether the Spanish Government, appre- 
ciating the forbearance of this country, will 
speedily and satisfactorily adjust the pending 
questions, not by the issue of empty orders or 
decrees without force or effect in Cuba, but by 
comprehensive and firm measures which shall 
everywhere be respected, I anxiously await 
further intelligence. 

Moreover, apart from these particular 
questions, in the opinion of the President, the 
time has arrived when the interests of this 
country, the preservation of its commerce, and 
the instincts of humanity alike demand that 
some speedy and satisfactory ending be made of 
the strife that is devastating Cuba. 

A disastrous conflict of more than seven 
years' duration has demonstrated the inability of 
Spain to maintain peace and order in an island 
lying at our door. Desolation and destruction 
of life and property have been the only results 
of this conflict. 

The United States sympathizes in the fact that 
this inability results in a large degree from the 
unhappy condition of Spain at home, and to 
some extent from the distractions which are 



228 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

dividing her people. But the fact remains. 
Added to this are the large expanse of ocean 
separating the peninsula from the island and the 
want of harmony and of personal sympathy be- 
tween the inhabitants of the territory of the 
home Government and those of the colony, the 
distinction of classes in the latter between rulers 
and subjects, the want of adaptation of the 
ancient colonial system of Spain to the present 
times, and to the ideas which the events of the 
past age have impressed upon the peoples of 
every reading and thinking country. 

Great Britain, wisely, has relaxed the old sys- 
tem of colonial dependence, and is reaping the 
benefits in the contentedness and peaceful prose- 
cution of the arts of peace and in the channels 
of commerce and industry, in colonies which 
under restraint might have questioned and re- 
sisted the power of control from a distant govern- 
ment and might have exhibited, as does Cuba, 
a chronic condition of insurrection, turbulence, 
and rebellion. 

In addition to all this, it cannot be questioned 
that the continued maintenance, in the face of 
decrees and enactments to the contrary, of a 
compulsory system of slave labor is the cause of 
disquiet and of excitement to a large class in the 
island, as also in the United States, which the 
Government of Spain has led us, by very dis- 
tinct assurances, to expect should be removed, 
and which the enlightened Christianity of the 
age condemns. 



APPENDIX B. 229 

The contest and disorder in Cuba affect the 
United States directly and injuriously by the 
presence in this country of partisans of the re- 
volt who have fled hither (in consequence of 
the proximity of territory) as to a political 
asylum, and who, by their plottings, are disturb- 
ers of the public peace. 

The United States has exerted itself to the 
utmost, for seven years, to repress unlawful acts 
on the part of these self-exiled subjects of Spain, 
relying on the promise of Spain to pacify the 
island. Seven years of strain on the powers 
of this Government to fulfill all that the most ex- 
acting demands of one government can make, 
under any doctrine or claim of international obli- 
gation, upon another, have not witnessed the 
much hoped for pacification. The United 
States feels itself entitled to be relieved of this 
strain. 

The severe measures, injurious to the United 
States and often in conflict with public law, 
which the colonial officers have taken to subdue 
the insurrection; the indifference, and ofttimes 
the offensive assaults upon the just susceptibili- 
ties of the people of the United States and their 
Government, which have characterized that 
portion of the peninsular population of Habana 
which has sustained and upheld, if it has not con- 
trolled, successive governors general, and which 
have led to the disregard of orders and decrees 
which the more enlarged wisdom and the more 
friendly councils of the home government had 



230 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

enacted; the cruelty and inhumanity which have 
characterized the contests, both on the part of 
the colonial government and of the revolt, for 
seven years, and the destruction of valuable 
properties and industries by arson and pillage, 
which Spain appears unable, however desirous, 
to prevent and stop, in an island three thousand 
miles distant from her shores, but lying within 
sight of our coast, with which trade and constant 
intercourse are unavoidable, are causes of 
annoyance and of injury to the United States, 
which a people cannot be expected to tolerate 
without the assured prospect of their termi- 
nation. 

The United States has more than once been 
solicited by the insurgents to extend to them its 
aid, but has for years hitherto resisted such 
solicitation, and has endeavored by the tender of 
its good offices, in the way of mediation, advice, 
and remonstrance to bring to an end a great 
evil, which has pressed sorely upon the interests 
both of the Government and of the people of the 
United States, as also upon the commercial 
interests of other nations. 

A sincere friendship for Spain, and for her 
people, whether peninsular or insular, and an 
equally sincere reluctance to adopt any measures 
which might injure or humble the ancient ally 
of the United States, has characterized the con- 
duct of this Government in every step during 
these sad and distressing years, and the Presi- 
dent is still animated by the same feelings, and 



APPENDIX B. 231 

desires above all things to aid her and her 
people to enter once more upon the path of 
safety and repose. 

It will be remembered that the President, in 
the year 1869, tendered the good offices of the 
United States for the purpose of bringing to a 
close the civil war in Cuba. This offer was 
made delicately, in good faith, and in friendship 
to both parties to the contest. 

General Prim, as the representative of the 
Spanish Government, while recognizing the 
good faith and friendship with which this offer 
was made, replied: 



We can better proceed in the present situation of 
things without even this friendly intervention. A time 
will come when the good offices of the United States 
will not be only useful but indispensable, in the final 
arrangements between Spain and Cuba. We will ascer- 
tain the form in which they can be employed and confi- 
dently count upon your assistance. 



The United States replied that its good offices 
for that object would be at any time at the serv- 
ice of the parties to the conflict. This Govern- 
ment has ever since been ready thus to aid in 
restoring peace and quiet. 

The Government of the United States has 
heretofore given expression to no policy in 
reference to the insurrection in Cuba, because 
it has honestly and sincerely hoped that no 
declaration of policy on its part would be re- 
quired, 



232 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

The President feels that longer reticence would 
be inconsistent with the interests of both Gov- 
ernments. 

Our relations with Spain are in that critical 
position that another seizure similar to that of 
the Virginius, other executions of citizens of the 
United States in Cuba, other wrongs of a less 
objectionable character even than many which 
have been already suffered by our citizens with 
simple remonstrance, or possibly even some new 
act of exceptional severity in Cuba, may sud- 
denly produce a feeling and excitement which 
might force events which this Government anx- 
iously desires to avoid. 

The President hopes that Spain may spon- 
taneously adopt measures looking to a reconcili- 
ation, and to the speedy restoration of peace, 
and the organization of a stable and satisfactory 
system of government in the island of Cuba. 

In the absence of any prospect of a termina- 
tion of the war, or of any change in the manner 
in which it has been conducted on either side, 
he feels that the time is at hand when it may be 
the duty of other governments to intervene, 
solely with the view of bringing to an end a dis- 
astrous and destructive conflict, and of restoring 
peace in the island of Cuba. No government 
is more deeply interested in the order and peace- 
ful administration of this island than is that of 
the United States, and none has suffered as has 
the United States from the condition which has 



APPENDIX B. 233 

obtained there during the; past six or seven 
years. He will, therefore, feel it his duty at an 
early day to submit the subject in this light, and 
accompanied by an expression of the views above 
presented, for the consideration of Congress. 

This conclusion is reached with reluctance and 
regret. 

It is reached after every other expedient has 
been attempted and proved a failure, and in the 
firm conviction that the period has at last arrived 
when no other course remains for this Govern- 
ment. 

It is believed to be a just and friendly act to 
frankly communicate this conclusion to the 
Spanish Government. 

You will, therefore, take an early occasion 
thus to inform that Government. 

In making the communication it is the earnest 
desire of the President to impress upon the 
authorities of Spain the continued friendly dis- 
position of this Government, and that it has no 
ulterior or selfish objects in view, and no desire 
to become a party in the conflict, but is moved 
solely by the imperative necessities of a proper 
regard to its own protection and its own inter- 
ests and the interests of humanity, and, as we 
firmly believe, in the ultimate interest of Spain 
itself! 

In informing the Spanish Government of 
these conclusions pursuant hereto, you are 
authorized to read this instruction to the Minis- 



234 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

ter of State or to state the substance and pur- 
port thereof, as you may deem most advisable. 

You will, of course, keep me advised, by tele- 
graph and by post, of your proceedings pursuant 
to this instruction. 

I am, etc., 

Hamilton Fish. 
Caleb Cushing, Esq., 
Etc., etc., etc. 



APPENDIX C. 

PRESIDENT GRANT'S ANNUAL MESSAGE TO CON- 
GRESS, DECEMBER, 1875. 

(Portion relating to Cuba.) 

The past year has furnished no evidence of an 
approaching termination of the ruinous conflict 
which has been raging for seven years in the 
neighboring Island of Cuba. The same disre- 
gard of the laws of civilized warfare and of the 
just demands of humanity, which has heretofore 
called forth expressions of condemnation from 
the nations of Christendom, has continued to 
blacken the sad scene. Desolation, ruin, and 
pillage are pervading the rich fields of one of the 
most fertile and productive regions of the earth, 
and the incendiary's torch, firing plantations and 
valuable factories and buildings, is the agent 
marking the alternate advance or retreat of 
contending parties. 

The protracted continuance of this strife 
seriously affects the interests of all commercial 
nations, but those of the United States more than 
others, by reason of close proximity, its larger 
trade and intercourse with Cuba, and the fre- 



236 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

quent and intimate personal and social relations 
which have grown up between its citizens and 
those of the island. Moreover the property of 
onr citizens in Cuba is large, and is rendered 
insecure and depreciated in value and in capacity 
of production by the continuance of the strife 
and the unnatural mode of its conduct. The 
same is true, differing only in degree, with re- 
spect to the interests and people of other nations; 
and the absence of any reasonable assurance of 
a near termination of the conflict must, of 
necessity, soon compel the states thus suffering 
to consider what the interests of their own 
people and their duty toward themselves may 
demand. 

I have hoped that Spain would be enabled to 
establish peace in her colony, to afford security 
to the property and the interests of our citizens, 
and allow legitimate scope to trade and com- 
merce and the natural productions of the 
island. Because of this hope, and from an ex- 
treme reluctance to interfere in the most remote 
manner in the affairs of another and a friendly 
nation, especially of one whose sympathy and 
friendship in the struggling infancy of our own 
existence must ever be remembered with grati- 
tude, I have patiently and anxiously waited 
the progress of events. Our own civil conflict 
is too recent for us not to consider the difficul- 
ties which surround a government distracted by 
a dynastic rebellion at home, at the same time 
that it has to cope with a separate insurrection 



APPENDIX C. 237 

in a distant colony. But, whatever causes may 
have produced the situation which so grievously 
affects our interests, it exists, with all its attend- 
ant evils, operating directly upon this country 
and its people. Thus far all the efforts of Spain 
have proved abortive, and time has marked no 
improvement in the situation. The armed 
bands of either side now occupy nearly the same 
ground as in the past, with the difference, from 
time to time, of more lives sacrificed, more 
property destroyed, and wider extents of fertile 
and productive fields and more and more of 
valuable property constantly wantonly sacri- 
ficed to the incendiary's torch. 

In contests of this nature, where a considerable 
body of people who have attempted to free them- 
selves of the control of the superior government 
have reached such point in occupation of terri- 
tory, in power, and in general organization as to 
constitute in fact a body politic; having a govern- 
ment in substance as well as in name; possessed 
of the elements of stability, and equipped with 
the machinery for the administration of internal 
policy and the execution of its laws; prepared 
and able to administer justice at home as well 
as in its dealings with other powers, it is within 
the province of those other powers to recognize 
its existence as a new and independent nation. 
In such cases other nations simply deal with an 
actually existing condition of things, and recog- 
nize as one of the powers of the earth that body 
politic which, possessing the necessary elements, 



238 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

has, in fact, become a new power; in a word the 
creation of a new State is a fact. 

To establish the condition of things essential 
to the recognition of this fact, there must be a 
people occupying a known territory, united 
under some known and defined form of govern- 
ment, acknowledged by those subject thereto, in 
which the functions of government are admin- 
istered by usual methods, competent to mete out 
justice to citizens and strangers, to afford reme- 
dies for public and for private wrongs, and able 
to assume the correlative international obliga- 
tions and capable of performing the correspond- 
ing international duties resulting from its 
acquisition of the rights of sovereignty. A 
power should exist, complete in its organization, 
ready to take and able to maintain its place 
among the nations of the earth. 

While conscious that the insurrection in Cuba 
has shown a strength and endurance which make 
it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of 
Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that 
no such civil organization exists which may be 
recognized as an independent government, capa- 
ble of performing its international obligations and 
entitled to be treated as one of the powers of 
the earth. A recognition under such circum- 
stances would be inconsistent with the facts, and 
would compel the power granting it soon to sup- 
port by force the government to which it had 
really given its only claim of existence. In my 
judgment, the United States should adhere to 



APPENDIX C. 239 

the policy and the principles which have here- 
tofore been its sure and safe guides in like con- 
tests between revolted colonies and their mother 
country, and, acting only upon the clearest evi- 
dence, should avoid any possibility of suspicion 
or of imputation. 

A recognition of the independence of Cuba 
being in my opinion impracticable and indefen- 
sible) the question which next presents itself is 
that of the recognition of belligerent rights in 
the parties to the contest. 

In a former message to Congress I had oc- 
casion to consider this question, and reached the 
conclusion that the conflict in Cuba, dreadful 
and devastating as were its incidents, did not 
rise to the fearful dignity of war. Regarding it 
now, after this lapse of time, I am unable to see 
that any notable success or any marked or 
real advance on the part of the insurgents has 
essentially changed the character of the contest. 
It has acquired greater age, but not greater or 
more formidable proportions. It is possible 
that the acts of foreign powers, and even acts of 
Spain herself, of this very nature might be 
pointed to in defense of such recognition. But 
now, as in its past history, the United States 
should carefully avoid the false lights which 
might lead it into the mazes of doubtful 
law and of questionable propriety, and ad- 
here rigidly and sternly to the rule which 
has been . its guide, of doing only that 
which is right and honest and of good 



240 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

report. The question of according or withhold- 
ing rights of belligerency must be judged in 
every case in view of the particular attending 
facts. Unless justified by necessity, it is always 
and justly regarded as an unfriendly act and a 
gratuitous demonstration of moral support to 
the rebellion. It is necessary and it is required 
when the interests and rights of another gov- 
ernment or of its people are so far affected 
by a pending civil conflict as to require a defi- 
nition of its relations to the parties thereto. 
But this conflict must be one which will be 
recognized in the sense of international law as 
war. Belligerence, too, is a fact. The mere ex- 
istence of contending armed bodies, and their 
occasional conflicts, do not constitute war in the 
sense referred to. 

Applying to the existing condition of affairs 
in Cuba the test recognized by publicists and 
writers on international law, and which have 
been observed by nations of dignity, honesty, 
and power, when free from sensitive or selfish 
and unworthy motives, I fail to find in the insur- 
rection the existence of such a substantial politi- 
cal organization, real, palpable, and manifest to 
the world, having the forms and capable of the 
ordinary functions of government toward its own 
people and to other States, with courts for the 
administration of justice, with a local habitation, 
possessing such organization of force, such ma- 
terial, such occupation of territory, as to take the 
contest out of the category of a mere rebellious 



APPENDIX C. 241 

insurrection, or occasional skirmish, and place 
it on the terrible footing of war, to which a 
recognition of belligerency would aim to elevate 
it. The contest, moreover, is solely on land; the 
insurrection has not possessed itself of a single 
seaport whence it may send forth its flag, nor 
has it any means of communication with foreign 
powers except through the military lines of its 
adversaries. No apprehension of any of those 
sudden and difficult complications which a war 
upon the ocean is apt to precipitate upon the 
vessels, both commercial and national, and upon 
the consular officers of other powers, calls for 
the definition of their relations to the parties 
to the contest. 

Considered as a question of expediency, I re- 
gard the accordance of belligerent rights still to 
be as unwise and premature as I regard it to be 
at present indefensible as a measure of right. 
Such recognition entails upon the country ac- 
cording the rights which flow from it difficult 
and complicated duties, and requires the 
exaction from the contending parties of the 
strict observance of their rights and obligations. 
It confers the right of search upon the high seas 
by vessels of both parties; it would subject the 
carrying of arms and munitions of war, which 
now may be transported freely and without in- 
terruption in the vessels of the United States, to 
detention and possible seizure; it would give 
rise to countless vexatious questions; would re- 
lease the parent government from responsibility 



242 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

for acts done by the insurgents, and would in- 
vest Spain with the right to exercise the super- 
vision recognized by our treaty of 1795 over our 
commerce on the high seas; a very large part of 
which, in its traffic between the Atlantic and the 
Gulf States and between all of them and the 
States on the Pacific, passes through the waters 
which wash the shores of Cuba. The exercise 
of this supervision could scarce fail to lead, if 
not to abuses, certainly to collisions perilous to 
the peaceful relations of the two States. There 
can be little doubt as to what result such super- 
vision would, before long, draw this nation. It 
would be unworthy of the United States to in- 
augurate the possibilities of such ' result by 
measures of questionable right or expediency or 
by any indirection. Apart from any question 
of theoretical right, I am satisfied that while 
the accordance of belligerent rights to the in- 
surgents in Cuba might give them a hope and an 
inducement to protract the struggle, it would be 
but a delusive hope and would not remove the 
evils which this government and its people are 
experiencing, but would draw the United States 
into complications which it has waited long and 
already suffered much to avoid. The recog- 
nition of independence or of belligerency being 
thus, in my judgment, equally inadmissible, it 
remains to consider what course shall be adopted 
should the conflict not soon be brought to an 
end by acts- of the parties themselves, and should 
the evils which result therefrom, affecting all 



APPENDIX C. 243 

nations, and particularly the United States, 
continue. 

In such event I am of the opinion that other 
nations will be compelled to assume the re- 
sponsibility which devolves upon them, and to 
seriously consider the only remaining measures 
possible, mediation and intervention. Owing 
perhaps to the large expanse of water separating 
the island from the peninsula, the want of har- 
mony and of personal sympathy between the in- 
habitants of the colony and those sent thither to 
rule them, and want of adaptation of the ancient 
colonial system of Europe to the present times 
and to the ideas which the events of the past cen- 
tury have" developed, the contending parties 
appear to have within themselves no depository 
of common confidence to suggest wisdom when 
passion and excitement have their sway, and to 
assume the part of peacemaker. In this view, 
in the earlier days of the contest, the good 
offices of the United States as a mediator were 
tendered in good faith, without any selfish pur- 
pose, in the interest of humanity and in sincere 
friendship for both parties, but were at the time 
declined by Spain, with the declaration, never- 
theless, that at a future time they would be in- 
dispensable. No intimation has been received 
that, in the opinion of Spain, that time has been 
reached. And yet the strife continues, with all 
its dread horrors and all its injuries to the inter- 
ests of the United States and of other nations. 
Each party seems quite capable of working 



244 THE ISLAND OE CUBA. 

great injury and damage to the other, as well as 
to all the relations and interests dependent on 
the existence of peace in the island; but they 
seem incapable of reaching any adjustment, and 
both have thus far failed of achieving any suc- 
cess whereby one party shall possess and con- 
trol the island to the exclusion of the other. 
Under these circumstances the agency of others, 
either by mediation or by intervention, seems to 
be the only alternative which must sooner or 
later be invoked for the termination of the strife. 
At the same time, while thus impressed, I do not 
at this time recommend the adoption of any 
measure of intervention. I shall be ready at all 
times, and as the equal friend of both parties, to 
respond to a suggestion that the good offices 
of the United States will be acceptable to aid in 
bringing about peace honorable to both. 

It is due to Spain, so far as this Government is 
concerned, that the agency of a third power, to 
which I have adverted, shall be adopted only as 
a last expedient. Had it been the desire of the 
United States to interfere in the affairs of Cuba, 
repeated opportunities for so doing have been 
presented within the last few years; but we have 
remained passive, and have performed our whole 
duty and all international obligations to Spain 
with friendship, fairness, and fidelity, and with a 
spirit of patience and forbearance which nega- 
tives every possible suggestion of desire to inter- 
fere or to add to the difficulties with which she 
has been surrounded. The Government of 



APPENDIX C. 245 

Spain has recently submitted to our Minister at 
Madrid certain proposals which it is hoped may 
be found to be the basis if not the actual sub- 
mission of terms to meet the requirements of the 
particular griefs of which this Government has 
felt itself entitled to complain. These proposals 
have not yet reached me in their full text. On 
their arrival they will be taken into careful ex- 
amination, and may, I hope, lead to satisfac- 
tory adjustment of the questions to which they 
refer, and remove the possibility of future oc- 
currences such as have given rise to our just 
complaints. It is understood, also, that renewed 
efforts are being made to introduce reforms in 
the internal administration of the island. Per- 
suaded, however, that a proper regard for the 
interests of the United States and of its citizens 
entitle it to relief from the strain to which it has 
been subjected by the difficulties of the ques- 
tions and the wrongs and losses which arise from 
the contest in Cuba, and that the interests of 
humanity itself demand the cessation of the 
strife before the whole island shall be laid waste 
and larger sacrifices of life be made, I shall feel 
it my duty, should my hopes of a satisfactory 
adjustment and of the early restoration of peace 
and the removal of future causes of complaint 
be unhappily disappointed, to make a further 
communication to Congress at some period not 
far remote, and, during the present session, 
recommending what may then seem to me to be 
necessary. 



APPENDIX D. 

CAPITULACION DEL ZANJON. 

Art£culo I. Concesion a la Isla de Cuba de 
las mismas condiciones politicas, organicas y 
administrativas de que disfruta la Isla de Puerto 
Rico. 

Art°. II. Olvido de lo pasado respecto de 
los delitos politicos cometidos desde el ano de 
1868 hasta el presente, y libertad de los en- 
causados 6 que se hallen cumpliendo condena 
dentro y fuera de la Isla. Indulto general a los 
desertores del Ejercito espaiiol sin distincion de 
nacionalidad, hacienda extensiva esta clausula 
a cuantos hubiesen tomada parte directa 6 
indirectamente en el movimiento revolucionario. 

Art°. III. Libertad a los esclavos y colonos 
asiaticos que se hallen hoy en las filas in- 
surrectas. 

Art°. IV. Ningun individuo que, en virtud 
de esta capitulacion, reconozca y quede bajo la 
accion del Gobierno espafiol podra ser compelido 
a prestar ningun servicio de guerra mientras no 
se establezca la paz. 

Art°. V. Todo individuo que desee marchar 
fuera de la Isla, queda facultado, y se le propor- 
246 



APPENDIX D. 247 

cionaran por el Gobierno espanol los medios de 
hacerlo, sin tocar en poblacion si asi lo deseare. 

Art . VI. La capitulacion de cada fuerza se 
efectuara en despoblado, donde con antelacion 
se depositaran las armas y demas elementos de 
guerra. 

Art°. VII. El General en Jefe del Ejercito 
espanol, a fin de facilitar los medios de que 
puedan avenirse los Departamentos, franqueara 
todas las vias de mar y tierra de que pueda 
disponer. 

Art°. VIII. Considerar lo pactado con el 
Comite del Centro como general y sin 
restricciones particulares para todos los Departa- 
mentos de la Isla que acepten estas proposi- 
ciones. 

El Zanjon, 10 de febrero de 1878. 

(Translation.) 

CAPITULATION OF EL ZANJON. 

Article I. Concession to the island of Cuba 
of the same political privileges, organic and ad- 
ministrative, enjoyed by the island of Puerto 
Rico.* 

Art. II. Oblivion of the past, as regards 
political offenses committed since the year 1868 
up to the present; and liberty to those who are 
under trial or are fulfilling sentences within or 

* This merely means that Cuba should be allowed represen- 
tation in the Spanish Cortes. That was then the organic dif- 
ference between the two islands. But see p. 183. 



248 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

outside of the island. A general pardon to the 
deserters from the Spanish army, without dis- 
tinction of nativity; this clause to be extended 
to all those who have taken any part, directly or 
indirectly, in the revolutionary movement. 

Art. III. Freedom to the slaves and Asiatic 
colonists now in the insurrectionary ranks. 

Art. IV. No person who in virtue of this 
capitulation recognizes and remains within the 
authority of the Spanish Government shall be 
compelled to render any military service until 
peace is established. 

Art. V. Every person who desires to leave 
the island shall be at liberty to do so, and he 
shall be furnished by the Spanish Government 
with the means therefor, without entering a 
town, if he should so desire. 

Art. VI. The capitulation of each force shall 
take place outside the towns, and the arms and 
implements of war shall be primarily laid down 
there. 

Art. VII. The general in chief of the Span- 
ish army, in order to facilitate the means for 
uniting the other departments in this convention, 
shall make free all the means of communication, 
by sea and land, that he can dispose of. 

Art. VIII. The Agreement made with the 
Central Committee shall be considered as gen- 
eral, and without special restrictions, for all the 
departments of the island which accept these 
propositions. 

El Zanjon, February 10, 1878. 



APPENDIX E. 

ARTICLES OF PACIFICATION WITH THE MAROONS 
OF TRELAWNEY TOWN, CONCLUDED MARCH 
I, 1738. 

In the name of God, Amen. Whereas Cap- 
tain Cudjoe, Captain Accompong, Captain 
Johnny, Captain Cuffee, Captain Quaco, and sev- 
eral other negroes, their dependents and adher- 
ents, have been in a state of war and hostility, for 
several years past, against our sovereign lord 
the King, and the inhabitants of this island; and 
whereas peace and friendship among mankind, 
and the preventing the effusion of blood, is agree- 
able to God, consonant to reason, and desired by 
every good man; and whereas his Majesty, King 
George the Second, King of Great Britain, 
France, and Ireland, of Jamaica Lord, Defender 
of the Faith, etc., has, by his letters patent, 
dated February the twenty-fourth, one thou- 
sand and seven hundred and thirty-eight, in the 
twelfth year of his reign, granted full power and 
authority to John Guthrie and Francis Sadler, 
Esquires, to negotiate and conclude a treaty of 
peace and friendship with the aforesaid Captain 
Cudjoe, and the rest of his captains, adherents, 
249 



250 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

and others his men; they mutually, sincerely, 
and amicably have agreed: 

I. That all hostilities shall cease on both sides 
forever. 

II. That the said Captain Cudjoe, the rest of 
his captains, adherents, and men, shall be for- 
ever hereafter in a perfect state of freedom and 
liberty, excepting those who have been taken by 
them, or fled to them, within two years last 
past, if such are willing to return to their said 
masters and owners, with full pardon and in- 
demnity from their said masters and owners for 
what is past; provided always, that, if they are 
not willing to return, they shall remain in sub- 
jection to Captain Cudjoe and in friendship with 
us, according to the form and tenor of this 
treaty. 

III. That they shall enjoy and possess, for 
themselves and posterity forever, all the lands 
situate and lying between Trelawney Town and 
the Cockpits, to the amount of fifteen hundred 
acres, bearing northwest from the said Trelawney 
Town. 

IV. That they shall have liberty to plant the 
said lands with coffee, cocoa, ginger, tobacco, 
and cotton, and to breed cattle, hogs, goats, or 
any other stock, and dispose of the produce or 
increase of the said commodities to the inhab- 
itants of this island; provided always, that when 
they bring the said commodities to market, they 
shall apply first to the custos, or any other 
magistrate of the respective parishes where they 



APPENDIX E. 251 

expose their goods to sale, for a license to vend 
the same. 

V. That Captain Cudjoe, and all the cap- 
tains, adherents, and people now in subjection to 
him, shall all live together within the bounds of 
Trelawney Town, and that they have the liberty 
to hunt where they shall think fit, except within 
three miles of any settlement, crawl, or pen; 
provided always, that in case the hunters of 
Captain Cudjoe and those of the other settle- 
ments meet, then the hogs to be equally divided 
between both parties. 

VI. That the said Captain Cudjoe, and his 
successors, do use their best endeavors to take, 
kill, suppress, or destroy, either by themselves, 
or jointly with any other number of men, com- 
manded on that service by his Excellency the 
Governor, or commander in chief for the time 
being, all rebels wheresoever they be, through- 
out this island, unless they submit to the same 
terms of accommodation granted to Captain 
Cudjoe, and his successors. 

VII. That in case this island be invaded by 
any foreign enemy, the said Captain Cudjoe, and 
his successors hereinafter named or to be 
appointed, shall then, upon notice given, im- 
mediately repair to any place the Governor for 
the time being shall appoint, in order to repel 
the said invaders with his or their utmost force, 
and to submit to the orders of the commander 
in chief on that occasion. 

VIII. That if any white man shall do any 



252 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

manner of injury to Captain Cudjoe, his suc- 
cessors, or any of his or their people, they shall 
apply to any commanding officer or magistrate 
in the neighborhood for justice; and in the case 
Captain Cudjoe, or any of his people, shall do 
any injury to any white person, he shall submit 
himself, or deliver up such offender to justice. 

IX. That if any negroes shall hereafter run 
away from their masters or owners, and fall into 
Captain Cudjoe's hands, they shall be immedi- 
ately sent back to the chief magistrate of the next 
parish where they are taken; and those that 
bring them are to be satisfied for their trouble, 
as the legislature shall appoint. 

X. That all negroes taken, since the raising 
of this party by Captain Cudjoe's people, shall 
immediately be returned. 

XI. That Captain Cudjoe, and his succes- 
sors, shall wait on his Excellency, or the com- 
mander in chief for the time being, every year, 
if thereunto required. 

XII. That Captain Cudjoe, during his life, 
and the captains succeeding him, shall have full 
power to inflict any punishment they think 
proper for crimes committed by their men- 
among themselves, death only excepted; in 
which case, if the Captain thinks they deserve 
death, he shall be obliged to bring them before 
any justice of the peace, who shall order pro- 
ceedings on their trial equal to those of other free 
negroes. 

XIII. That Captain Cudjoe, with his people, 



APPENDIX E. 2$3 

shall cut, clear, and keep open, large and con- 
venient roads from Trelawney Town to West- 
moreland and St. James', and, if possible, to St. 
Elizabeth's. 

XIV. That two white men, to be nomi- 
nated by his Excellency, or the commander in 
chief for the time being, shall constantly live and 
reside with Captain Cudjoe and his successors, 
in order to maintain a friendly correspondence 
with the inhabitants of this island. 

XV. That Captain Cudjoe shall, during his 
life, be chief commander in Trelawney Town; 
after his decease the command to devolve on his 
brother, Captain Accompong; and in case of his 
decease, on his next brother, Captain Johnny; 
and, failing him, Captain Cuffee shall succeed; 
who is to be succeeded by Captain Quaco; and 
after all their demises, the Governor, or com- 
mander in chief for the time being, shall appoint, 
from time to time, whom he thinks fit for that 
command. 



APPENDIX F. 

MEMORANDUM OF SOME POINTS OF INTER- 
NATIONAL LAW BEARING ON THE QUESTION 
OF CUBAN BELLIGERENCY.* 

International law, or the law of nations, is 
a body of rules and principles which have 
grown up by the general consent of civilized 
nations, regulating their treatment of each other. 
Its foundation is the general good of mankind; 
its sanctions are common consent, a recognition 
of its justice, and a fear of general retaliation; its 
standards of authority are the decisions of regu- 
larly organized prize courts and the compilations 
of eminent publicists whose learning, wisdom, 
and fairness are generally recognized. Rules of 
international law are sometimes expressly recog- 
nized, or modified, by treaties; but these treaties 
are binding only on their signatories. 

Every nation has a right, under the direction 
of its supreme head, to make war upon any other 
nation to secure a right or prevent a wrong; and 

* The references to sections are to those of Wheaton's 
" Elements of International Law," eighth edition, with notes 
by Richard Henry Dana, Jr., LL. D. 

254 



APPENDIX F. 255 

it is allowed to be its own judge of the right or 
wrong. 

The parties to a war are called belligerents; 
and to each other they are mutually enemies. 
The term enemy applies to all the persons of the 
opposite nation. All who are not involved in 
any way in the war are neutrals. A neutral may 
take part on either side and thus become the 
ally Of one belligerent and the enemy of the other. 

Every belligerent claims that his side of the 
quarrel is just; and a neutral has no right to 
judge between them, so as to take any action on 
such judgment. His duty is to treat both pre- 
cisely alike, so far as the war is concerned; which 
can only be done by letting them entirely alone, 
offering no hindrances or facilities to either. 

A declaration of war is not essential,* but is 
a convenience to neutrals, that they may be 
quickly and definitely informed of the fact. 

A belligerent has a right to use all the force 
necessary to bring his enemy to his terms; but 
he is not justified in inflicting unnecessary pain 
or damage. He may kill his enemy, but only 
when the latter is in the performance of some 
hostile act, including the attempt to escape out 
of captivity. He may not kill in a cruel or un- 

* Brevet Lieutenant Colonel J. F. Maurice, R. A., in his 
work entitled " Hostilities without Declaration of War,") pub- 
lished by the Intelligence Division of the British War Office), 
enumerates 103 cases, from 1700 to 1870, of hostilities occur- 
ring between civilized powers prior to any declaration or 
warning. 



256 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 

usual manner. The old rule that permitted the 
captor to kill prisoners that he had not the 
means of keeping would now be abhorrent to 
humanity. The right to hold prisoners is only 
commensurate with the power. 

A belligerent has a right to take or destroy 
the enemy's property wherever he can; but, as 
he cannot enter a neutral jurisdiction to do this, 
he is limited to his own country, the enemy's 
country, unclaimed islands, and the open seas — 
practically, the second and fourth of these. But 
it is the most approved practice of civilized 
nations to spare all persons and property on land 
that are not either impeding their operations or 
contributing to those of the enemy, or are neces- 
sary to self-preservation. The enemy's ships 
and goods found on the high seas are lawful 
prize; but must first be submitted to the judg- 
ment of a prize court to determine the legal 
right. It cannot be a court of the enemy, and 
neutrals generally refuse the use of theirs; 
hence it must be the court of the captor or his 
ally. 

From time immemorial the goods of an enemy 
on board of a neutral ship are liable to seizure 
(Sec. 442). It is the interest of maritime nations, 
and those having large commerce and small 
navies, to restrict the right as much as possible. 
This can only be done by treaty. Many treaties, 
especially those of the United States, contain a 
provision that free ships make free goods. It is 



APPENDIX F. 257 

so provided in the treaty with Spain of October 
2 7> x 795> Article XV. 

On the converse, by the principles originally 
accepted, enemy's ships do not make enemy's 
goods; but, in many modern treaties and for 
sake of simplicity, the nationality of the ship is 
made to determine the character of the cargo 
(Sec. 454). Carrying enemy's goods does not 
work forfeiture of the ship. 

The carrying of contraband of war forfeits the 
ship and cargo of the neutral carrier. By thus 
aiding directly in the war, he ceases to that ex- 
tent to be neutral, and becomes an ally, and con- 
sequently an enemy. All articles specially 
adapted to the purposes of war are contraband. 
Artcles that minister only to the wants of 
women and children, to the offices of religion, the 
fine arts, education, and learning are not contra- 
band. Between these are a vast number of 
articles that may or may not be contraband, 
according to circumstances. When destined for 
military or naval stations or forces they are con- 
traband; if going to places not connected with 
warlike operations or preparations they are not. 
To prevent ambiguity, articles of contraband are 
enumerated by name in many modern treaties, 
as in that with Spain in 1795. Sometimes a 
clause is added that all articles not so named 
shall be free. A further clause is added in some 
treaties that the ship shall be exempt, especially 
when the ship and cargo have different owners 



258 APPENDIX F. 

(Sec. 505). If seized, she must be submitted to 
a prize court. 

Contraband of war includes military — not 
civil — persons and dispatches (Sec. 502—503). 

Siege is an attempt to capture a town or fort 
of the enemy; blockade an attempt to prevent 
anyone from going in or out. An attempt to 
pass a blockading or besieging force forfeits ship 
and cargo. But there are conditions. The in- 
vesting force must be such, and so placed, as to 
make it dangerous to pass. The neutral must 
have due notice of the blockade. Proclamation 
or rumor is not sufficient. The neutral must be 
warned by the blockading squadron; or the fact 
of the blockade must be so well known in the 
place whence he comes that he cannot be sup- 
posed to be ignorant (Sec. 514). 

To constitute a violation of blockade the 
cargo must have been taken on board after 
notice. An innocent trader is to be warned off, 
but not allowed to enter. A ship in the block- 
aded port must take in no more cargo after its 
commencement, but may pass out with what is 
already on board. 

Neutral ships of war are not privileged to 
enter blockaded ports (Sec. 512, note). 

The offense of carrying contraband or of vio- 
lating blockade begins at the port of departure 
and continues throughout the voyage or until 
capture. That of the blockade running covers 
the return homeward (Sec. 506). 



APPENDIX F. 259 

A belligerent has the right to stop and search 
every peaceful ship that sails the sea. He needs 
to know whether she is an enemy, a bearer of 
enemy's goods, a bearer of contraband, or a 
blockade runner; and neither point can be deter- 
mined without visit and search. This right, 
especially in the hands of rash and ignorant 
officers, is so vexatious that it is the interest of 
the rest of mankind that there should be no bel- 
ligerents, or failing that, that their privileges 
should be as limited as possible. Hence the 
tendency of modern treaties. 

A ship's papers, unless defective or fraudulent, 
are sufficient evidence of the character and des- 
tination of vessel and cargo. Usually they alone 
are examined. 

The public vessels of a neutral are not liable to 
visitation and search. 

A vessel chased at sea may not be followed 
within the limits of a neutral jurisdiction (Sec. 
429). 

The law of nations furnishes little or no guid- 
ance in the case where subjects rebel against 
their sovereign. An acknowledgment of bel- 
ligerency by a neutral is a mere expression of 
opinion, but of an opinion unfavorable to the 
sovereign. It avails nothing unless followed by 
action. If the action be in aid of the sovereign 
the neutral becomes his ally, and the enemy of 
the rebels. If the action favors the rebels, the 
result is the reverse. In the latter case, the 



260 APPENDIX F. 

neutral has no right to complain if his vessels 
are searched at sea ; but, by the act of search, the 
sovereign admits the belligerency. 

A sovereign holds that those in revolt are 
enemies de facto, yet de jure subjects. He will 
bring them to their allegiance, if he can; if he 
cannot, they become independent, or parts of 
some other sovereignty. Such has been the his- 
tory of America, North and South, for 130 years. 

The fitting out of, or contributing to, expedi- 
tions against a sovereign or dependency is an 
unfriendly act, and may be a just cause of war. 
But the vigilance of the United States Govern- 
ment in preventing filibustering is based not so 
much on international law as upon express 
statute — the Act of April 20, 1818, which com- 
bines and enlarges several earlier acts. 

M. M. R. 



APPENDIX G. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

F. D. Vives. Cuadro estadistico de la Isla de 
Cuba correspondiente al afio 1827. Precedido 
de una descripcion historica, fisica, geografica, 
y notas. Habana, 1829. 

J. de la Pezuela. Ensayo historico de la Isla 
de Cuba. Nueva York, 1842. 

Bando de Gobernacion y policia de la Isla de 
Cuba, expedido por el Excelentisimo Sr. D. 
Jeronimo Valdes, Presidente, Gobernador y 
Capitan General. Habana, 1842. 

V. Vasquez Queipo. Informe sobre la pobla- 
cion blanca en la Isla de Cuba. Madrid, 1845. 

Ramon de la Sagra. Historica fisica, politica 
y natural de la Isla de Cuba. Publicada con real 
aprobacion y bajo la proteccion de la Intenden- 
cia de la Habana. Madrid, 1 849—6 1. 13 vols. 

R. B. Kimball. Cuba and the Cubans ; history 
and condition of the island. New York, 1850. 

M. Torrente. Bosquejo economico-politico de 
la Isla de Cuba. Madrid-Habana, 1852—53. 
2 vols. 

V. Feijoo Sotomayor. Isla de Cuba; inmi- 
gracion de trabaj adores espanoles; documentos 
y memoria sobre esta materia. Habana, 1853. 
261 



262 APPENDIX G. 

Jose de la Concha. Memorias sobre el estado 
politico, gobierno y administracion de la Isla de 
Cuba. Madrid, 1853. 

Llamamiento de la Isla de Cuba a la nacion 
espanola. Por un hacendado. Nueva York, 

1854. 

P. A. Alfonso. Memorias de un Matancero. 
Apuntes para la historia de la Isla de Cuba con 
relacion a la ciudad de San Carlos y San Severino 
de Matanzas. Matanzas, 1854. 

Antonio Saco. Folletos escritos contra la 
anexion de la Isla de Cuba a los Estados Unidos 
de America. Nueva York, 1856. 

Alexander von Humboldt. The Island of 
Cuba. Translated from the Spanish, with notes 
and a preliminary essay, by J. S. Thrasher. 
New York, 1856. 

R. Pasaron y Lastra. La Isla de Cuba con- 
siderada economicamente. Madrid, 1858. 

D. A. Galiano. Cuba en 1858. Madrid, 1859. 

P. Santacilla. Lecciones orales sobre la his- 
toria de Cuba, pronunciadas en el Ateneo 
iDemocratico Cubano de Nueva York. Nueva 
Orleans, 1859. 

J. F. Erenchun. Anales de la Isla de Cuba. 
Diccionario administrativo, economico, esta- 
distico y legislative Madrid-Habana, 1857—64. 
3 vols. 

Jegor von Sivers. Cuba, die Perle der 
Antillen. Leipzig, 1861. 

Ramon de la Sagra. Historia economico-poli- 



APPENDIX G. 263 

tica, intelectual y moral de la Isla de Cuba. 
Nueva edicion. Paris, 1861. 

J. de la Pezuela. Diccionario geografico-esta- 
distico de la Isla de Cuba. Madrid, 1863. 4 
vols. 
. Necesidades de Cuba. Madrid, 1865. 

Fernandez de Castro. Estudios sobre las 
minas de oro en la Isla de Cuba. Habana, 1865. 

Emilio Blanchet. Compendio de la historia de 
Cuba. Matanzas, 1866. 

Cespedes y Orellano. Elementos teorico-prac- 
ticos de procedimientos civiles con aplicacion a 
las islas de Cuba y Puerto Rico. 2a edicion. 
Habana, 1866. 2 vols. 

F. de Armas y Cespedes. De la esclavitud en 
Cuba. Madrid, 1866. 

F. Figuera. Estudios sobre la Isla de Cuba. 
La cuestion social. Madrid, 1866. 

Jacobo de la Pezuela. Historia de la gji&rm **i 
de Cuba. Madrid, 1868. 4 vols. 

R. Ferrer. Estudios fisicos, geograficos y 
geologicos de Cuba. (Pub. in La Revista de 
Espana, Tomo XXII, 1871). 

J. Zaragoza. Las insurrecciones en Cuba. 
Apuntes para la historia politica de esta isla en 
el presente siglo. Madrid, 1872—73. 2 vols. 

S. Hazard. Cuba with Pen and Pencil. Lon- 
don, 1873. 

A. Gallenga. The Pearl of the Antilles. Lon- 
don, 1873. 

Miguel Blanco Herrero. La Isla de Cuba, su 



264 APPENDIX G. 

situacion actual y reformas que reclama. Ma- 
drid, 1876. 

Hippolyte Piron. L'lle de Cuba. Paris, 
1876. 

Los tres primeros historiadores de la Isla de 
Cuba. Reproduction de las historias de Jose 
Martin de Arrate y Antonio Jose Valdes, y pu- 
blication de la inedita de Ignacio de Urrutia y 
Montoya. Adicionado con notas y aumentado 
con la description historica de las ciudades, etc., 
de esta isla. Habana, 1876—77. 3 vols. 

Candido Pieltain, Capitan General. La Isla 
de Cuba desde mediados de abril a fines de 
octubre de 1873. Madrid, 1879. 

Pedro Gutierrez y Salazar. Reformas de 
Cuba; cuestion social. Madrid, 1879. 

T. W. Steele. Cuban Sketches. New York, 
1881. 

The same. New, cheaper edition. New 

York, 1885. 

M. M. Ballou. Due South; Cuba, Past and 
Present. Boston, 1885. 

Rafael G. Eslava. Juicio critico de Cuba en 
1887. Habana, 1887. 

Francisco Moreno. Cuba y su gente ; apuntes 
para la historia. Madrid, 1887. 

Raimundo Cabera. Cuba y sus jueces. (An 
answer to the foregoing). Habana, 1887. 

Francisco Moreno. El pais del chocolate; la 
inmoralidad en Cuba. Madrid, 1887. 

Reseiia geografica y estadistica de Espafia. 
Por la Direction general del Instituto Geo- 



APPENDIX G. 265 

grafico y Estadistico. Madrid, 1888. (Pp. 
1051—65 relate to Cuba.) 

Leopoldo Barrios y Carrion, Capitan de 
Estado Mayor. Sobre la historia de la guerra de 
Cuba. Barcelona, Revista CientiUco-Militar, 
1888-90. 

Rafael G. Eslava. Historia colonial de Cuba 
desde su descubrimiento hasta el ano 1888. 
Habana, 1889. 

F. A. Conte. La lucha politica en Cuba (1878- 
89). Habana, 1889. 

Jose M. de la Torre. Novisimos elementos de 
geografia e historia de la Isla de Cuba. Com- 
pletamente reformada por Jose Imberno. Ha- 
bana, 1889. 

Elisee Reclus. The Earth and its Inhabitants. 
North America. Edited by A. H. Keane. New 
York, 1 89 1. (Pp. 354-82 of vol ii. relate to 
Cuba.) 

John C. Prince. Cuba Illustrated. Sixth edi- 
tion. New York, 1893. 

Eugenio Antonio Flores, oficial de Volun- 
taries. La guerra de Cuba; apurites para la his- 
toria. Madrid, 1895. 

Rafael Delforme Salto. Cuba y la reforma 
colonial en Espana. Madrid, 1895. 

Antonio Perala. Anales de la guerra de Cuba. 
Madrid, 1896. 

Beligerantes y neutrales; rebeldes y amigos. 
Estudios de derecho internacional publico. Por 
un aficionado. Madrid, 1896. 

Severo Gomez Nunez, Capitan de Artilleria. 



266 APPENDIX G. 

Estudios geograficos y estadisticos de la Isla de 
Cuba. (Author decorated for same.) Madrid, 
1896. 

Fernando Lopez Tuero. Estudio moral de los 
factores de la production en Cuba y Puerto 
Rico. Madrid, 1896. 

Los Estados Unidos contra Espafia. Por un 
optimista. Madrid, 1896. 

Juan Calero y Ortega, Teniente de Infanteria. 
Guerras irregulares y de montafia. (Author 
decorated for same.) Madrid, 1896. 

Vicente Torres y Gonzalez. La insurrection 
de Cuba. Madrid, 1896. 

Bailly-Bailliere. Anuario del comercio, de la 
industria, de la magistratura y de la administra- 
tion, 6 directorio de las 400,000 senas de Espafia, 
Ultramar, Estados Hispano-Americanos, y 
Portugal. Ano xviii. Madrid, 1896. (Pp. 
2414—2535, vol. ii., relate to Cuba.) 

Raimundo Cabrera. Cuba and the Cubans. 
Translated from the eighth edition of " Cuba y 
sus jueces " [vide supra] by Laura Guiteras. 
Revised and edited by L. E. Levy, and com- 
pleted with a supplementary appendix by the 
editor. Philadelphia, 1896. 

Rafael M. Merchan. Cuba: justification de 
su guerra de independencia. Bogota, 1896. 

Espaha y Cuba. Estado politico y adminis- 
trative de la Grande Antilla bajo la domination 
espafiola. Madrid, 1896. 

Spanish Rule in Cuba; Laws Governing the 



APPENDIX G. 267 

Island. (Abstract translation of the foregoing, 
with additional notes.) New York, 1896. 

James Hyde Clark. Cuba and the Fight for 
Freedom. Philadelphia, 1896. 

Murat Halstead. The Story of Cuba: Her 
Struggles for Liberty, the Cause, Crisis, and 
Destiny of the Pearl of the Antilles. Chicago, 
1896. 

Fidel G. Pierra. Cuba: Physical Features of 
Cuba, her Past, Present, and Possible Future. 
New York, 1896. 

Cuban Belligerency: Petition of Tomas 
Estrada Palma, Delegate of the Republic of 
Cuba; Statement of the law, by Horatio S. 
Rubens, Counsel for the delegation. New 
York [1896]. 

Antonio Romero Torrado, Ex-Presidente de 
la Audiencia de la Habana. El problema de 
Cuba. Madrid, 1896. 

Leandro Gonzalez Alcosta. Que pasa en 
Cuba; por que crece la insurreccion; y como se 
extravia aqui la opinion publica. 2a edicion. 
Leon, 1896. 



ANNOTATED TEXTS OF LAWS RELATING TO CUBA. 

El procedimiento administrativo en los nego- 
cios de ultramar, organizado por real decreto de 
21 de septiembre de 1888; y la ley de lo conten- 
cioso-administrativo, aplicada a las islas de 



268 APPENDIX G. 

Cuba, Puerto Rico y Filipinas por real decreto 
de 23 de noviembre de 1888. Madrid, 1889. 

Ley de enjuiciamiento c'minal vigente en 
Cuba y Puerto Rico, anotada por la redaccion 
de la Revista de los Tribunales. Madrid, 1889. 

Compilation de las disposiciones organicas de 
la administration de justicia en las provincias de 
ultramar, precedida de una introduction his- 
torica. Anotada y concordada con la legisla- 
tion anterior y la de la Peninsula, y con las leyes 
procesales, y seguida de varios apendices. 
Madrid, 1891. 

Codigo penal para las islas de Cuba y Puerto 
Rico, anotado con la jurisprudencia del tribunal 
supremo por D. Manuel Ochotorena. 2a edi- 
tion. Madrid, 1894. 

Ley de enjuiciamiento civil, reformada para 
las islas de Cuba y Puerto Rico. Aprobada el 
25 de septiembre de 1885. Anotada con la juris- 
prudencia del tribunal supremo. 2a edition. 
Madrid, 1894. 

LIST OF UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE DOCU- 
MENTS RELATING TO CUBA. 

Treaty between United States and Spain. 
Correspondence relative to the delays by the 
Governor and Captain General of the Island of 
Cuba. June 13, 1821. Senate Docs., No 2, 
18th Cong., 2d sess. 

Resolution on the Transfer of Cuba from 



APPENDIX G. 269 

Spain. Representative Markley. April 7, 1826. 
H. R. Reports, No. 39, 19th Cong., 1st sess. 

Resolution on Tonnage of Cuban Vessels. 
April 19, 1848. Senate Misc. Docs., No. 125, 
30th Cong., 1st sess. 

Message on Imprisonment of W. H. Bush by 
authorities of Cuba. President James K. Polk. 
Feb. 23, 1849. Senate Ex. Docs., No. 33, 30th 
Cong., 26. sess. 

Proclamation on Invasion of Cuba. Presi- 
dent Zachary Taylor. Dec. 4, 1849. Senate 
Ex. Docs., No. 1, 31st Cong., 1st sess. 

Message on Cuban affairs. President Zach- 
ary Taylor. June 3, 1850. Senate Ex. Docs., 
No. 57, 31st Cong., 1st sess. 

Proclamation on the Cuban Invasion. Presi- 
dent Millard Fillmore. 1851. H. R. Ex. Docs., 
No. 2, 32d Cong., 1st sess. 

Message on Prisoners Captured by Spanish 
Authorities. President Millard Fillmore. Feb. 
2y, 185 1. Senate Ex. Docs., No. 41, 31st Cong., 
2d sess. 

Message on Foreigners in Cuban Expedition. 
President Millard Fillmore. July 2, 1852. H. 
R. Ex. Docs., No. 115, 32d Cong., 1st sess. 

Message on the Island of Cuba. President 
Millard Fillmore. July 13, 1852. H. R. Docs., 
No. 121, 32d Cong., 1st sess. 

Message Relative to a Proposed Tripartite 
Convention on the Subject of Cuba. President 
Millard Fillmore. Jan. 4, 1853. Senate Ex. 
Docs., No. 13, 32d Cong., 2d sess. 



270 APPENDIX G. 

Resolutions on Case of James H. West, Im- 
prisoned in Cuba. Rhode Island Legislature. 
March 9, 1853. Senate Misc. Docs., No. 2, 33d 
Cong., special sess. 

Report on Seizure of the Black Warrior at Ha- 
bana, Feb. 28, 1854. President Franklin Pierce. 
March 15, 1854. H. R. Ex. Docs., No. 76, 33d 
Cong., 1st sess. 

Resolutions on Abolition of Slavery in Cuba. 
Louisiana Legislature, March 16, 1854. H. R. 
Misc. Docs., No. 79, 33d Cong., 1st sess. 

Message on the Acquisition of Cuba. Presi- 
dent James Buchanan. Jan. 19, 1859. Ex. 
Docs., No. 57, 35th Cong., 2d sess. 

Report on the Acquisition of Cuba. Senator 
John Slidell. Jan. 24, 1859. Senate Reports, 
No- 35 1 . 35 th Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on Imprisonment of American Citi- 
zens in Cuba. President James Buchanan. 
April 2, i860. Ex. Docs., No. 54, 36th Cong., 
1 st sess. 

Letter on Recognition of Cuba. Governor of 
South Carolina. Dec. 9, 1869. Senate Misc. 
Docs., No. 5, 41st Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on Relations with Cuba. President 
U. S. Grant. Dec. 15, 1869. H. R. Ex. Docs., 
No. 22, 41st Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on Murder of American Citizens in 
Cuba. President U. S. Grant. Feb. 18, 1870. 
H. R. Ex. Docs., No. 140, part 2, 41st Cong., 
2d sess. 



APPENDIX G. 271 

Message on Affairs in the Island of Cuba. 
President U. S. Grant. Feb. 22, 1870. H. R. 
Ex. Docs., No. 160, 41st Cong., 26. sess. 

Resolution on Recognition of Cuba. Iowa 
Legislature. March 28, 1870. H. R. Misc. 
Docs., No. 103, 41st Cong., 2d sess. 

Resolution on the Revolution in Cuba. 
Maryland Senate. April 11, 1870. H. R. 
Misc. Docs., No. 125, 41st Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on the Insurrection in Cuba. Presi- 
dent U. S. Grant. June 13, 1870. Senate Ex. 
Docs., No. 99, 41st Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on Hostilities in Cuba. President 
U. S. Grant. July 9, 1870. Senate Ex. Docs., 
No. 108, 41st Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on Emancipation in Cuba. Presi- 
dent U. S. Grant. July 13, 1870. Senate Ex. 
Docs., No. 113, 41st Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on Relations with Cuba. President 
U. S. Grant. Feb. 13, 1872. Senate Ex. Docs., 
No. 32, 42d Cong., 2d sess. 

Resolution on Recognition of Cuba. Kansas 
Legislature. March 4, 1872. H. R. Misc. 
Docs., No. 101, 42d Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on Chinamen in Cuba. President 
U. S. Grant. March 20, 1872. PL R. Ex. 
Docs., No. 207, 42d Cong., 2d sess. 

Memorial Relating to Cuba. Citizens of New 
York City. Dec. 17, 1873. H. R. Misc. Docs., 
No. 41, 43d Cong., 1st sess. 

Message on Capture of the Steamer Virginius. 



272 APPENDIX C. 

President U. S. Grant. Jan. 5, 1874. H. R. 
Ex. Docs., No. 30, 43d Cong., 1st sess. 

Resolution on Neutrality toward Spain and 
Cuba. Senator Conover. Jan. 10, 1876. Sen* 
ate Misc. Docs., No. 29, 44th Cong., 1st sess. 

Message Relating to Cuba. President U. S. 
Grant. Jan. 21, 1876. H. R. Ex. Docs., No. 
90, 44th Cong., 1st sess. 

Message on the Virginias Indemnity. Presi- 
dent R. B. Hayes. Nov. 15, 1877. H. R. Ex. 
Docs., No. 15, 45th Cong., 1st sess. 

Message on Seizure of Steamer Virginius. 
President R. B. Hayes. March 29, 1878. H. 
R. Ex. Docs., No. y2, 45th Cong., 2d sess. 

Message on the Insurrection in Cuba. Presi- 
dent R. B. Hayes. May 14, 1878. Senate Ex. 
Docs., No. 79, 45th Cong., 2d sess. 



PAGE REFERENCES TO CUBAN REPORTS IN 
MONTHLY CONSULAR REPORTS FROM MAY, 
1893, NO. 152, TO APRIL, 1896, NO. 187. 

No. 

152, p. 255, Sugar in. 

161, p. 346, Iron and manganese ore in. 

164, p. 151, Markets for American flour. 

165, p. 255, Sugar exports. 

167, pp. 630, Tobacco interests; 632, Economic 
condition. 

168, p. 20, Eucalyptus tree. 

169, p. 248, Sugar interests. 



APPENDIX G. 273 

No. 
i7°> P- 393> Sugar exports. 

171, pp. 456, Declared exports to the United 
States; 567, Sugar exports. 

172, pp. 4, Mercantile agencies; in, Sugar 
industry; 126, Cardenas asphalt deposits. 

175, pp. 503, Declared exports to the United 
States; 552, Condition of sugar industry; 554, 
Finances; 556, American flour; 562, New 
tariff; 563, New tax law. 

176, p. 187, Sugar statistics. 

177, p. 207, Industrial burdens. 

178, pp. 531, American iron company; 532, 
Sugar crop. 

179, p. 608, Declared exports to the United 
States! 

181, pp. 228, Trade with the United States; 245, 
Manganese ore for the United States. 

182, pp. 313, Declared exports to the United 
States; 384, Sugar exports. 

183, p. 523, Bills of lading. 

184, p. 123, American sugar interests. 

185, p. 252, Santiago-Cienfuegos cable. 

187, pp. 453, Sugar crop; 454, Harvesting of 
sugar crop; 455, Depression in jerked-beef 
trade. 



NDEX 



Abolition of slavery, 119, 179 
Albemarle, Lord, his siege of 

Habana, 92 
Allianca affair, 154 
American shipping, annoyances 

to, 207 
Area of Cuba, 4 
Ariguanabo, Lake of, 19, 23 
Armament of Spanish troops, 

164 
Army, permanent, in Cuba, 

152 

Bajos (shoals) DE LOS Colora- 

DOS, 26 

Balance of trade, 209 

Bamburanao, Sierra de, 10 

Bellamar, caves of, 68 

Belligerency, 213, 254 

Belligerents, definition of, 255; 
rights of, 256 

Bibliography, 261 

Black Eagle conspiracy, 103 

Black Warrior, affair of, 106 

Blockade, conditions constitut- 
ing, 258 

Bridges, natural, 21 

British occupation of Habana, 

93 
Buccaneers, 94 
Budget, the Cuban, 201 
Burning of sugar works, 169 



Cable communications, 52 
Calcareous deposit, 17 
Calzadas (highways), 46 
Campos, vide Martinez de 

Campos 
Capital of the revolutionary 

government, 173 
Capitulation of El Zanjon, 125, 

246 
Captain General, functions of, 

185 
Casas, Luis de las, appointed 

Governor, 99 
Cascades, 20 
Causes of Cuban dissatisfaction, 

in 
Caves, 17 ; of Bellamar, 68 ; 

of Cubitas, 10 
Censorship of the press, 194 ; 

of societies, 196 
Census of 1887, 182 
Cespedes, Carlos M. de, 12 1, 

124 
Cienaga de Zapata, 12, 27 
Cienagas, 24, 27 
Cinco Villas (popular name of 

district), 4, 54 
Cisneros, Salvador, 124 
City governments, 188 
Climate, 37 
Coal deposits, 41 
Coast-line, extent of, 3 



275 



276 



INDEX. 



Coasts, 25 

Coffee, introduction of, 43 ; de- 
cline in production of, 44 

Colonization, objects of, 77, 88 

Columbus, discoveries of, 81 ; 
landing-place of, 22 

Communication, means of, 45 

Conspiracy of 1844, 104 

Contraband of war, 257 

Coolie labor, 180 

Copper mines, 37.^ 41 

Cordillera de los Organos, 13 

Corruption, administrative, 113, 
144 

Cortes, expedition of, fitted out 
at Santiago, 98 

Cortes, Spanish, Cuban repre- 
sentation in, 183 

Council of administration, 185 

Council of authorities, 186 

Courts, 188 

Cuba, area of, 4 ; as a custo- 
mer, 209 ; as a neighbor, 
205 ; condition in the eight- 
eenth century, 97 ; deplor- 
able condition of in 1868,118 ; 
difficulties presented by, 141 ; 
first permanent settlement in, 
87 ; first Spanish occupation 
of, 86 ; geographical descrip- 
tion of, I ; historical sketch 
of, 77 ; hollow structure of, 
17 ; loyalty of, 101 ; relative 
position of, 1 

Cuban dissatisfaction, causes 
of, III 

Cuban refugees, 150 

Cuban Volunteers, 115 

Cubans recognized as belliger- 
ents, 123 

Cubitas, caves of, 10 ; revolu- 
tionary capital, 173 

Cuchillas, or knife-edged crests, 
7,8 



Customhouse frauds in Cuba, 
145 

Decree defining powers of 
Governor General, 101 

Defences of Habana, 62 

Discoveries, early, 78 

Distances, 2, 46 

Districts, judicial, 53, 56 

Divisions, ecclesiastical, 6 ; 
political, 6 ; territorial, 4 ; 
three orographic, 14 

Earthquakes, 16 

Education, 190 

Edward Lee, whaling vessel, 

detention of, 139 
Ellen Rizpah, whaling vessel, 

detention of, 138 
Everglades or marshes, 27 
Exclusion of foreigners, 89 
Expenditures, 201 
Exports, 203 

Filibustering, 105, 109, 260 

Finance, 143 

Fish, Secretary Hamilton, on 
Cuban affairs, 140 ; dispatch 
to Caleb dishing, 223 

Foreigners excluded, 89 

Forests and timber, 45 

Fossil remains, 31 

Fruits, 44 

Geology, 17, 31 

Gold, native, 37 ; found only 

in small quantities, 42 
Gomez y Baez, Maximo, 151, 
- 154, 168 
Government, 183 ; of cities, 

188 ; of provinces, 187 ; seat 

of revolutionary, 173 
Governor (Captain) General, 



INDEX. 



277 



decree defining powers of, 
101 ; functions of, 185 

Guaniguanico, archipelago of, 
26 

Gran Piedra, la, 8 

Grant, President U. S., on 
Cuban affairs, 141 ; annual 
message to Congress, De- 
cember, 1875, 235 

Habana (city), 62 ; attacks on, 

92 ; British occupation of* 

93 ; defenses, 63 ; meteoro- 
logical conditions, 38 

Habana (province), 54 
Haiti, seat of first Spanish set- 
tlement in the New World, 83 
Harbors, 28 

Hatuey, the pagan martyr, 86 
Hollow structure of the island, 

17 m 
Hurricanes, 38 

"Insulars" and "Peninsu- 
lars," 115 

Insurgents, headquarters at 
Cubitas, 173 ; numerical 
strength, 173 

International law, 205, 254 

Iron ore and mines, 42 

Isle of Pines, 29 

Jamaica, British conquest of, 

95 ; tariff of, 199 
Jardines or Jardinillos (group of 

islets) 27 
'• Jenkin's Ear, War of," 90 
Judicial system, 188 

Keys, 3, 25 ; inhabited, 29 

Lake Ariguanabo, 19, 20 

Lakes, 23 

Line of Pope Alexander, 85 



Losses, Spanish, in Rebellion 
of 1868, 126 ; in Rebellion 
of 1895, 163 
Lopez, Narciso, 104, 105 
Luis de las Casas, appointed 
governor, 99 

Maceo, Antonio, 153, 168 

Maceo, Jose, 153 

Marble, 29, 41 

Maroon war in Jamaica, 215 

Maroons, articles of pacification 

with, 249 
Marshes or everglades, 27 
Marti, Jose, 151, 153; killed in 

action, 155 
Martial law proclaimed, 151 
Martinez de Campos, Captain 

General, 125, 153 ; recalled, 

158 
Matanzas (city), 67 ; (province), 

54 
Meteorological conditions of 

Habana, 38 
Mines, number of, 42 
Monopoly of trade, 116 
Mono Castle, 64 

National debt, Spanish, 143 
Natives, Columbus' account 

of, 84 
Navy yard at Habana, IOO 
Negro element in the popula- 
tion, 176 
Nepotism, Spanish, in Cuba, 

103, 114, 179 
Numerical strength of the in- 
surgents, 166 ; of the Spanish 
forces, 162 

Offices bestowed on natives of 

Spain, 103, 114, 179 
Ojo del Toro, 7 
Orography, 6 



273 



INDEX. 



Ostend Conference, 108, 109 
Oxen as draft animals, 48 

Pack mules, 48 

Pan de Guajaibon, 13 

Pan de Matanzas, 13 

Papal bull : Eugenius IV., 79 ; 
Alexander VI., 85 

Partidos de Fuera, los, 4 

Pico del Potrillo, 12 

Pico Turquino, 8 

Pinar del Rio (city), 69 ; 
(province), 54 

Plains, their fertility, 24 

Polk, President James K., his 
proposal to Spain, 105 

Population, 175 

Portales, los, 21 

Portuguese discoveries, 78 

Postage, extraordinary, 117 

Prevailing winds, 38 

Prisoners, treatment of, 170 

Products, 40 

Prospects of Cuban independ- 
ence, 214 

Provinces, the six, 6 ; govern- 
ment of, 187 

Puerto Principe (city), 69 ; 
(province), 55 

Puerto Rico, tariff of, 200 

Quitman, General, his expe- 
dition, 109 

Railroads, 48 

Rainfall, 38 

Rebellion of 1868, 109, 121 ; 

Spanish losses in, 126 
Rebellion of 1895, 151 ; 

Spanish losses in 163 
Rebels, vide Insurgents 
Red Banks (shoals), 26 
Reefs and keys, 25 
Refugees, Cuban, 150 



Religion, 189 

Representation in the Spanish 

Cortes, 183 
Revenues, 201 
Revolutionary government, 

171 ; capital at Cubitas, 173 
Rising Sun, whaling vessel, 

detention of, 139 
Rivers, 16 
Roads, 46 

Salaries, large, 113 

Salinas (salt pans), 29 

Santa Clara (city), 73 ; (prov- 
ince), 54 

Santa Clara, Count of, 
Governor of Cuba, 99 

Santiago de Cuba (city), 74 ; 
the first permanent settle- 
ment in Cuba, 87 

Santiago de Cuba (province), 55 

Scenery, natural, 9 

Schmitt, U. S. Vice-Consul, 
noble conduct of, 130, 132 

Schools, 192 

Search at sea, right of, 259 

Sickles, General Daniel E., 
his part in the Virginius 
affair, 135 

Sierra de Bamburanao, 10 

Sierra de Cobre, 8 

Sierra Maestra, 7 

Slavery, 178 ; abolition of, 119 

Societies, secret political, 103 

Soil, 35 

Spain, national debt of, 143 ; 
war against financial credit 
of, 169 

Spanish forces in Cuba, 152, 
161 ; armament of, 164 

Spanish losses : in Rebellion 
of 1868, 126 ; in Rebellion 
of 1895, 163 

Spanish wars, 118 



INDEX. 



279 



Steamers, 56 ; between New- 
York and Habana, 50 ; 
coasting, 52 
Streams, subterranean, 17 
Strength of insurgent forces, 

166 ; of Spanish forces, 161 
Students, affair of the, 127 
Subterranean streams, 17 
Sugar, becomes important, 
100 ; crops ordered to be 
destroyed, 156 ; decline in 
price of, 145 ; introduction 
of, 42 

Tariff, 198 

Taxation and revenues, 112 

Telegraph lines, 52 

Telephones, 53 

Temperature, 37 

Tierra Adentro (popular name 

of district), 4 
Tobacco, decreased exportation 

of, 148 
Trade, balance of, 209 ; 

monopoly of, 116 
Treaty with the Maroons of 

Jamaica, 249 
Treaty of El Zanjon, text of, 

246 
Tripartite convention, 108 
Trocha, the first, 10, 156; the 

second and third, 157 ; the 

fourth, 159 
Troops, number of Spanish, in 

Cuba, 152, 161 



United States, interest of, in 

the Cuban question, 218 
University of Habana, 190 



" Virginius," affair of the, 

128; amount of indemity paid 

by Spain, 138 
Volante, a light, two-wheeled 

vehicle, 47 
Volcanoes, extinct, 16 
Volunteers, the Cuban, 115 
Vuelta Abajo (popular name of 

district), 4 
Vuelta Arriba (popular name of 

district), 4 



" War of Jenkins' Ear," 90 

Water courses, 16 

Waterfalls, 20 

Weyler y Nicolau, General 
Valeriano, appointed Gov- 
ernor General, 159 

Winds, prevailing, 38 



Vara, insurrection of, 121 
Ybarra, revolutionary demon- 
stration at (February 24, 

1895), I5i 
Yunque de Baracoa, el, 9 

Zanjon, el, capitulation at, 
125 ; text of treaty, 246 



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Zenda,' and shares with that story the unabated interest from 
first page to last, and the superb handling of the romantic and 
adventurous." 

THE INDISCRETION 
OF THE DUCHESS. 

By Anthony Hope. 

Author of " The Prisoner of Zenda." 

Tenth Edition. Buckram Series. 75c. 

j 

The Nation : "It returns to the vein of ' The Prisoner of 
Zenda,' but in no way repeats that story. . . Nineteenth- 
century adventures though they are, they are told with an old- 
time air of romance that gives them the fascination of an earlier 
day ; an air of good faith, almost of religious chivalry, gives 
reality to their extravagance. . . Marks Mr. Hope as a wit, 
if he were not a romancer." 

The Atlantic Monthly ; "Is as brimful of incidents, as rapid 
in movement, and as entertainingly improbable [as ' Zenda ' ] 
. . . Will be read at a sitting by a multitude of romance 
lovers." 

The Dial : " Displays a piquant ingenuity of invention. It 
is all very impossible and very fascinating. . . The reader is 
kept constantly alert for new developments, which are never 
quite what is anticipated. Like all the rest of the author's 
books, it provides capital entertainment." 

The New York Times : " The interest is by turns pleasingly 
sentimental or strongly exciting. There are strange happen- 
ings in every chapter. . . The improbable has a wholesome 
tonic effect when the literary malady called * realism ' is epi- 
demic." 



By the same author. Buckram Series, 75 cents each. 
The Prisoner of Zenda, A Man of Mark, Sport Royal, The 
Dolly Dialogues, A Change of Air. 

HENRY HOLT & CO., 

29 West 23d Street, New York. 



'■Timely \ manly \ thoroughbred, and eminently suggestive ."—Atlantic Monthly. 
Tb irteen th Edition of a New York Novel. 

THE HON. PETER STIRLING 

And what people thought of him. By Paul 
Leicester Ford. 12mo, cloth, #1.50. 



The Nation : " Floods of light on the raison d'etre, origin, and methods of the dark 
figure that directs the destinies of our cities. . . So strongly imagined and logically drawn 
that it satisfies the demand for the appearance of truth in art. . . Telling scenes and inci- 
dents and descriptions of political organization, all of which are literal transcripts of life 
and fact — not dry irrelevancies thrown in by way of imparting information, but lively 
detail, needful for a clear understanding of Stirling's progress from the humble chairman- 
ship of a primary to the dictator's throne. . . In the use of dramatic possibilities, Mr. 
Ford is discreet and natural, and without giving Stirling a heroic pose, manages to win for 
him very hearty sympathy and belief. Stirling's private and domestic story is well knit 
with that of his public adventures. . . A very good novel." 

The Atlantic Monthly: "Commands our very sincere respect . . there is no glar- 
ing improbability about his story . . . the highly dramatic crisis of the story. . . The 
tone and manner of the book are noble. . . A timely, manly, thoroughbred, and eminently 
suggestive book." 

The Review of Reviews : " His relations with women were of unconventional sincerity 
and depth. . . Worth reading on several accounts." 

The Dial : " One of the strongest and most vital characters that have appeared in our 
fiction. . . A very charming love story. To discern the soul of good in so evil a thing as 
Municipal politics calls for sympathies that are not often united with a sane ethical out- 
look ; but Peter Stirling is possessed of the one without losing his sense of the other, and 
it is this combination of qualities that make him so impressive and admirable a figure. . . 
Both a readable and an ethically helpful book." 

The New York Tribune : " A portrait which is both alive and easily recognizable." 

New York Times : " Mr. Ford's able political novel." 

The Literary World: "A fine, tender love story. . . A very unusual, but, let us 
believe, a possible character. . . Peter Stirling is a man's hero. . . Very readable and 
enjoyable." 

The Independent : " Full of life. The interest never flags. . . It is long since we have 
read a better novel or one more thoroughly and naturally American." 

The Boston Advertiser : " Sure to excite attention and win popularity." 

The Brooklyn Eagle: "A love and labor story . . . terribly picturesque. . . Abun- 
dance of humor." 

The Baltimore Sun : " The team of politics and love drive very well together. . . 
Mr. Ford has created a very effective character under very difficult circumstances." 

The Springfield Republican : *' A plain, old-fashioned story of a man with a 
conscience." 

Detroit Free Press : " Few novels published recently will be read with more absorbing 
interest." 

HENRY HOLT & CO., 29 West 23d Street, New York. 



